


The End is Coming

by allison221b



Category: Darcy Lewis - Fandom, Jane Foster - Fandom, Loki - Fandom, Tasertricks - Fandom, Thor - Fandom, fosterson - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-09-18
Packaged: 2018-04-14 07:58:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 23,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4556838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allison221b/pseuds/allison221b
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy helps save a world when Jane discovers that Asgard is in danger. Thor and Loki play their roles</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Beginning of The End](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2323331) by [lokishorcrux](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lokishorcrux/pseuds/lokishorcrux). 



> this is the second fic I'm posting here. It'll definitely (hopefully) be shorter and better than my last one. I hope you all enjoy it!

 

Well. That escalated quickly.

 

That was Darcy’s first thought after Jane had rushed in, and started babbling about Thor, and something about Loki getting out of Asgard.

 

It started when Darcy’s phone started going off. Naturally, she ignored it. It was Saturday for crying out loud. Shield can wait.

 

Before the craziness, Darcy Lewis had been having a nice day.

She had been inside her small apartment, browsing tumblr. It was Saturday, so she had nowhere to go. Hence, the reason she was in her pajamas at 11 am, eating chips out of an open bag of Doritos, and enjoying her weekend. The window was open, and she could hear the sounds of the city around her, the breeze blowing in.

 

Jane was staying in Darcy’s place now, which was fine. They got along better than they had in the past, and even became friends - especially since they’d already been through some shit together. The two had become friends after everything that had happened. Darcy, still the intern, helped with Jane’s research (i.e. brought Jane the files and boxes of equipment, and the occasional coffee and doughnut because if she didn’t, Jane would probably starve to death) but other than that, Darcy was off for the summer. She had her last semester coming up, and then she’d have to decide what to do with her well earned degree.

 

Fortunately, Darcy had convinced Jane to take today off, so that they could both have a little sanity restored after working on one particular experiment for two weeks straight. (Which Darcy had only helped with because she had been getting bored with doing almost nothing all of the time)

 

But busyness reminded her that sometimes, doing nothing is just what the doctor ordered.

 

Jane had finally agreed, given that she was exhausted too.

Darcy was so pleased her boss actually listened to her, that she decided that on her first day off in what felt like forever, she would

 

All in all, it was turning out to be a very nice weekend of doing nothing, which was pretty much the way she liked it.

 

Until her phone chirped.

 

She assumed it was the battery, seeing as she didn’t remember if she’d turned it off last night (seeing as she’d pretty much collapsed on the couch after work, only getting up to eat dinner and go to sleep. She hadn’t even taken a shower like she usually did.)

 

She was going to get up early and take a shower, but in the interest of doing nothing, it seemed counterproductive

 

Jane was off somewhere, hopefully taking a relaxing walk or something non-sciency, so therefore Darcy couldn’t ask her to check the phone for her. Not that Darcy typically ordered around her former boss, but it might’ve been worth a shot.

 

Darcy had been in the middle of downing the last of her coffee, when there were loud footsteps outside her door, and then a few seconds later, Jane burst in, causing Darcy to jump and nearly spit out her drink.

 

“Jane! What’s wrong? You nearly gave me a heart attack”

 

Jane was breathing heavily, and couldn’t speak at first.

 

Coffee dribbled down Darcy’s lip and she reached a napkin to wipe her chin.

 

Then she stood up to help her boss sit down.

 

“Jane, talk to me, what’s going on?”

 

Her boss finally opened her mouth to speak

“Darcy, something is going to happen. Something bad”

 

“to us? To Earth?” Darcy asked the questions compulsively, trying to ignore the shiver that went through her as she did.

 

“No, not Earth.” Jane met her eyes, “to Asgard.”

 

“Does Thor know?”

 

“I’m not sure. He hasn’t returned for a while, maybe this is what he’s dealing with”

 

Darcy frowned. “What is the ‘this’ he’s dealing with exactly?”

 

“There are anomalies, in the Einstein Rosen Bridge, compared to the readings from when Thor first came to Earth.”

 

“Which means?”

 

“The connection Asgard has to the other realms is collapsing. It’s premature, I’d have to boost the signal to get a clearer reading, but that’s the idea. There’s no other explanation. Or maybe there is, I don’t know”

 

Jane got up and started pacing the floor

 

“…But we’re safe on our planet, right? we’d survive even if Asgard was destroyed or whatever” Darcy felt a little silly asking this, felt even more like a non-science major.

 

“I don’t know. The theory is that what happens to one realm affects the rest, the buildup to destruction alone could have a ripple affect that would extend past Asgard,” Jane stopped pacing “I wish I knew how to reach Thor.”

 

“Do you have his number?” Darcy smiled a little in spite of herself

 

“No I do not have his number, we didn’t exactly get matching cell phones!” Jane snapped.

Then immediately looked apologetic

“I’m sorry, Darce, I’ve been running around all morning since this was detected.”

 

“It’s okay, no harm done. So, what do we do?”

 

It seems their question might be answered for them in the form of a red caped figure with a hammer, who was currently flying to them.

 

“Call Shield? Maybe Erik, I trust him more than Shield, even if they did let me work for them”

 

“Well, first I think we both need some coffee and a snack. Food always helps. Besides,” Darcy got up and walked to the kitchen, “you need reminding to eat, or you’ll go off the deep end and become a science zombie or something”

 

Jane rolled her eyes, but the upturn of a corner of her mouth told Darcy that she was calming down even just a little

 

They had just sat down with their food and newly poured coffee, when there was a crash and a bang, and the god of thunder was standing on their balcony.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From Loki's POV

Loki was pacing in his quarters, too agitated to sit down. Something was happening, and he wasn’t sure what or why.

 

He’d been impersonating his fa – impersonating Odin – for nearly three months now.

It was surprisingly easy, especially without Thor around, or any other family for that matter. (It was still hard to think of Frigga without pain). Volstagg, Fangral and Sif all missed their big blonde friend, but upon learning that Thor hadn’t wanted to be king, but rather remain a protector of the realm (which was the truth), they hadn’t questioned it.

 

Thor had still intermittently stopped by, just long enough to check in. Loki wondered what his brother would think of him if he revealed he had been alive all this time, and had been impersonating Odin himself. He wondered if Thor would actually kill him this time, like he had threatened to before all this.

 

He’d been careful to not do anything too drastic, too like himself during his reign. He had almost no reason to since he’d gotten what he wanted. He was finally King.

Now that he wasn’t king as himself, but as someone else, he encountered a lot more respect and less disdain from his subjects. Odin had been many things, but he was not someone one could be openly disdainful towards and be expected to come out of it alive or in one piece.

 

And with Odin locked up (he couldn’t decide whether to kill the old fool or not. For now, he decided it was better to have insurance), he could bewitch the old man to act as Loki desired, to make decisions he believed would be beneficial. But he hadn’t done it yet, as something had changed.

 

Something was wrong.

 

He could sense it. His magic gave him a little insight into the future, just a tiny glimpse, a feeling really.

 

And for the first time, it felt like there was no future.

 

He had only realized this a few weeks ago. Running a kingdom took time, and keeping up his disguise while doing it was starting to wear on him.

 

But he endured enough to be able to see what his magic did (or in this case did not) detect.

 

 

He’d tried to look into the future again. At first, he thought he could see visitors to Asgard, some familiar and some not. And he thought he saw his brother coming to visit again, but then he could see the start of a disaster – the details of which were not clear – but then it stopped.

Usually he got a little more than that, a bit more insight, a longer look.

 

Not this time. And as much as he hated to admit it, it worried him.

Maybe the attempt on his life back on the realm with the Dark Elves had weakened him more than he realized. Perhaps his magic had been affected on a deeper level than was first apparent.

 

He could hear footsteps outside his room, and then a knock on the door.

 

He shifted just in time to answer.

 

“What is it?”

 

a servant informed him that his brother had returned, and Loki was about to reply that he would meet Thor in the throne room, but the servant continued, saying that Thor wasn’t alone: he had brought two Midgardians with him.

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor, Jane and Darcy go to Asgard. Loki is curious about the new face of the group.

leading up to going to Asgard earlier:

 

Darcy gave a startled yelp at the noise, and accidentally spilled her coffee again, only this time in larger quantities than before.

“Shit! Ow, that freaking hurts!” Darcy hopped up, grabbed a napkin and began sponging herself off, still wincing.

 

Jane had handed her another napkin

“you okay, Darcy?”

 

“Oh, don’t mind me, go see what your space boyfriend wants” Darcy couldn’t help her grumpy tone, but Thor’s appearance only served to prove that Jane was right, and Asgard was in danger, and probably the whole world. Therefore, Darcy felt she’d earned the right to be as grumpy as she wanted, spilled coffee notwithstanding.

 

Thor looked rather apologetic that he’d startled both of them, but Jane rushing to him seemed to help him get it over it.

 

The couple embraced, while Darcy got the worst of the coffee cleaned up off herself and the chair. At least it wasn’t dripping anymore.

 

After a minute or two of embracing and kissing from Jane and Thor, Jane asked what he was doing here.

 

“I came to see you, but also to investigate. Word across the realms is that something is coming, some impending disaster.”

 

Darcy walked over at that,

“That’s what Jane was saying before you showed up, that Asgard was in trouble. And as it happens, so are my pajamas”

Thor looked temporarily puzzled

“I do not know this word. But are you saying that you knew of the coming trouble to Asgard and possibly the Nine Realms?”

 

Jane was about to explain, when Darcy interjected again

“when you made your grand appearance, you startled me, as you hopefully noticed before ya’ll started making out, and as a result, I spilled coffee – a very hot drink by the way – all over my pajama bottoms.”

“I’m truly sorry, Lady Darcy. If there is anything I can do to help – “

 

Darcy would’ve expounded on a very long list of things he could do to help, just to make him nervous, but Jane then interrupted her, anxious to explain to Thor what he equipment had detected

“I’ll get you a new pair, Darcy. Or you can have one of mine”

 

“Eh no worries, boss lady. These’ll wash. I wouldn’t take yours, I wouldn’t want you to sleep naked again” Darcy couldn’t help but be blunt. It was a gift and a curse, and right now, the curse was taking full effect.

 

Jane closed her eyes, while Thor merely cleared his throat. After a few seconds, Jane gathered herself and tried to get back to what she meant to say

 

“Back to what I was saying,” Jane continued, “my equipment picked up an anomaly, some weird readings, and it looks like there are more black holes then there should be, stars were going out. It’s possible the borders between worlds –and the worlds themselves - are disappearing. I thought I was imagining it, but I wasn’t. Something is happening, I just don’t know how or what”

 

 

Thor took it all in with a grave expression.

“It’s just as I feared. We must go to Asgard, you can inform my father of your findings”

 

“Really? He’ll let me back in after what happened last time?”

 

Darcy couldn’t blame Jane for sounding concerned

 

Thor graciously assured her that his father would welcome her presence again

 

While the happy couple was talking, Darcy took the opportunity to actually put on some real clothes. They didn’t notice her absence, which both amused and slightly annoyed her, but she’d get over it

 

Thor was just reaching out for Jane to take her to Asgard, when Darcy interrupted them

 

“hey wait for me. I just have to put shoes on”

 

Jane looked hesitant for a moment, but soon actually agreed. She needed another person from Earth, a second pair of eyes. Darcy was glad to know that Jane didn’t think she was useless

 

Thor and Jane awkwardly stood there, while Darcy tied her shoes. Jane soon joined her, and they got her science stuff together and then they were ready to go

 

“Should I hold onto Jane or you?”

 

“It is probably best for you hold onto me, as I wouldn’t want you to be lost in the process.”

 

Darcy hugged Thor’s side, opposite Jane.

 

Jane nodded at Thor

And Darcy verbally confirmed, “ready when you are, big guy”

 

At that, Thor raised his arm, and in a flash of light, they were off.

 

 

The “flight” there, if you could call it that, reminded Darcy of a rollercoaster that only went one direction, with no loop – d – loops or anything fancy.

But it was still exhilarating.

 

It must’ve only been a minute or so, but it happened so fast it felt like seconds.

A room came into focus, a beautiful golden room with a dais and a man at the top of the dais ready to greet them.

 

“That was freaking awesome, can we do again on the way back?” Darcy grinned, and Jane did too, but the moment passed quickly.

 

Thor requested quick transport to the throne room, of which he was given a small boat like object, which the three of them piled into, Thor at the front, Jane in the middle, and Darcy in the back.

The guard went ahead to

Due to Thor’s towering frame, she couldn’t see directly in front, but by leaning to the side, she could take it all in.

 

It was glorious.

 

Gold and stone made up the buildings, the water sparkled beneath them as they sailed, for lack of a better term, through the city.

The sun seemed so much brighter here than on Earth.

 

Darcy could hardly take it all in. She felt a little jealous of Jane, who had been here before, though under less than ideal circumstances.

 

She was just wishing she had brought her camera, when they suddenly arrived just outside the palace

 

A guard greeted them as they disembarked, and offered to lead them to the throne room.

 

But Thor insisted on taking them to Odin himself.

 

Darcy could hardly keep up with the other two, since she couldn’t help but look around at the walls, the ceilings, the pillars.

But she managed anyway as Thor led the way.

 

They finally reached the throne room, and entered the big double doors, and began the walk down a long room to the throne at the end.

Darcy walked behind the other two. She hoped that didn’t look suspicious or anything. She’d never been here before, nor had she met Odin, so she hoped her nerves didn’t get the best of her.

 

Odin sat waiting for them, holding his scepter, with a solemn expression.

 

As they approached, Thor knelt, and Jane and Darcy followed his lead.

 

“Rise”

 

As they did, Darcy thought the king had been glancing at her just a tad longer than the rest. She supposed it was because she hadn’t been there before.

 

“What news do you bring me?”

 

Thor looked briefly at Jane, who seemed fairly calm considering why they were there.

 

“The realms are in danger. Asgard is in danger, but not from an enemy alone, but from the end of days. I believe, and Jane as well, that Ragnarok is coming.”

 

A silence fell over the room and its company.

 

“Ragnarok has been long prophesied. How do you know the time is here?”

 

Jane answered. For once, Darcy was glad she wasn’t a scientist herself, even though she had picked up a few things being an intern of one.

 

“My readings on my equipment showed stars going out, black holes in their places, I can detect Asgard, or at least where Asgard vaguely is, but the signal was growing weaker. The instruments were in perfect condition. I checked over and over, and the same conclusion came to me.”

 

“What she means to say is the end is, apparently, coming.” Darcy finished for her, getting anxious just standing there doing nothing.

 

Jane turned to glance at her, but she didn’t seem too upset. Just determined.

 

Odin turned again to Darcy.

“What is your name, mortal one?”

 

“I’m Darcy”

 

“Darcy.” A beat. “You are a friend of Jane’s?”

 

“yes. And her intern”

 

“you will assist us in stopping the coming destruction”

It was more of a statement than a question, but Darcy wasn’t fazed

“Why do you think I’m here? Why we’re all here for that matter”

 

“Prophecies can be mistaken. Nevertheless, I shall accompany you as we confer with our astronomers who study the skies, and see what we shall see.”

 

It was all very formal and grand. But Darcy could’ve sworn that Odin almost smiled at her when she spoke

 

All four of them now went to the astronomers.

 

 

Loki, disguised as Odin, hadn’t expected to meet a new mortal upon Thor’s return. He had met Jane already, delightful woman though she was, this new Midgardian proved to be just as delightful, if not more so.

 

He was curious of this Darcy. He had to be careful to act like Odin would act, though he so wanted to be himself for once, just to see what Thor and Jane’s friend would do.

 

His curiosity was almost overshadowed by dread when he heard the word Ragnarok.

God-like though he may be, he knew all about the supposed end of days.

He wondered how long he could keep this ruse up, and if he should reveal himself.

 

Because, Vahalla help him, he didn’t want to have to look and act like Odin forever around this strange, new, and dare he even think it, attractive mortal.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They see the astronomers, Darcy gets angry. (I tried to make it not too out of character. It's a struggle, writing)  
> Loki considers questioning Odin about Ragnarok.

 

They made their way to the astronomers, Odin leading way, followed by Jane and Thor.

Darcy attempted to wedge her way between them just to feel included, but Jane was talking a mile a minute and didn’t really notice her friend trying to step in. Naturally, Thor hung to every word, so he didn’t notice Darcy either.

 

They were moving too fast for Darcy to take in their surroundings. Darcy could only hope that she could do it later (and take a few selfies in the process – hashtag #chillinginAsgard)

 

It wasn’t far to their destination. A few hallways, an empty room, and finally some stairs leading to the astronomers sanctuary.

 

It had a dome shaped ceiling, with numerous windows and telescopes pointed at those windows. It wasn’t night yet, but astronomers were looking through the instruments anyway.

Darcy wondered briefly if those telescopes were called something different here, and whether these astronomers were required to study the stars and planets or if they wanted to.

She supposed they could be like the King’s royal astronomers or something, and she would’ve made the comment to Jane about it, but she wasn’t quick enough.

 

She hung back a little while the others did their thing. She didn’t quite know what to do with herself, much less with Jane. Back home, she could probably think of some way to help her boss, but here the equipment was less familiar, not to mention their environment. Besides, she didn’t want to look stupid in front of everyone. Despite her bluntness and humor, she didn’t like being embarrassed in front of strangers, especially ones like the King of Asgard and the God of Thunder

 

Odin made an announcement about Ragnarok, and introduced Jane as “a Midgardian scientist who also studies the realms as we Asgardians have done for centuries”

 

  
The astronomers had slid off their chairs and had bowed to the visitors. Odin went with Jane and Thor to see what the astronomers had studied lately, and Darcy still hung back.

 

She was looking around for a bench, or possibly just another astronomer to talk to, when she heard her name.

 

“Lady Darcy, did you not say you would assist in this matter?”

 

Darcy was surprised to hear these words from Odin. She’d hoped Jane would need her help, or even for Thor to call her over, but for the King himself to notice she was standing by herself, that was something else.

 

“Oh, right, yeah.” She speed walked a little till she was behind Jane, trying to see what was happening.

 

Darcy didn’t notice Odin’s glance linger on her just a little too long.

 

 

Loki could play the part of his adopted father; he’d done it for months now. It was familiar. He knew the old man pretty well.

Last time he was on the throne, Odin had been in Odinsleep, and Loki had had a semblance of authority, as king by proxy.

Now, he was impersonating Odin. And he could take the pressure, or at least he wanted to be able to. He couldn’t decide which scenario was more pressing; to be king as himself, but not fully respected, or to pretend and have more respect as someone else, as a pretense.

At least before he didn’t have to disguise himself, didn’t have to conceal his true nature. But people had still mistrusted him; Thor’s friends had been openly defiant when they came to see him.

 

As Odin, he commanded much more respect and dignity.

 

But the façade couldn’t last forever. He might be a shapeshifter and have magic, but that didn’t mean it was easy to maintain.

 

And then there was the question of Ragnarok. If it really was coming, he wondered if it was worth it to keep pretending. Trickster and callous though he may be, it still ate at him; if he never revealed to Thor that he had survived.

 

Thor was perhaps his greatest danger to being discovered, given that his brother knew Odin just as well as he did and would be the most likely to detect a contradiction. Thor also knew him – Loki – and could possibly see through the act. Would his brother be furious with him? Or would he, considering the possible danger, forgive him and try to work together anyway?

 

He took a breath and tried to focus on something else.

 

He turned and saw Darcy standing by herself, looking a little lost. He wondered if she would be of much use. Still, he had no idea what kind of person she was.

He called to her, which seemed to surprise her, but she came over to the group. He remembered to look away before he lingered too long on her dark wavy hair, her creamy skin, her perfect lips –

 

“Have you seen anything like this? Anything like stars going out, the possibility of universes disappearing?” Jane’s voice broke his train of thought, making come back to the present reality.

 

He moved closer to hear what Jane was asking his – Odin’s – head astronomer, Julius, a tall man with graying hair.

 

“a few stars have gone out, gradually at first, but then more and more. Unlike on Earth, from out point of view stars are often replaced, much more than Midgardians think they are.” Julius continued, in a subdued voice, “but your arrival is curious, because it is just today that we detect more than stars disappearing. 

 

Jane asked to use the telescope, and she was allowed. She only asked for help once, but was otherwise able to operate the machine without difficulty.

 

Darcy found herself asking if they could tell how much damage to the realms had been done, and how quickly it was happening,

“So,” she turned to Julius, “you can tell what’s happening?”

 

He faced her, and nodded slowly, frowning slightly as if he was looking down on them, wondering why she would ask such a stupid, insignificant question.

 

Maybe he didn’t believe a Midgardian could really have the same sort of knowledge they had, or not in the same amount. Jane didn’t seem to notice this, but Darcy could see right through him.

 

“so how much damage has been done, and how quickly will this happen?”

 

“It’s not conclusive. We only just now realized what was really happening, as opposed to the normal cycle of death and rebirth of stars throughout the realms”

 

Jane cut in, asking if there were any other instruments or ways to get a closer look. Julius nodded and opened his mouth to explain further

 

“we have ways to predict outcomes, to prepare for the worst. But Ragnarok has long been prophesied, but so far, we haven’t seen any signs –“ he looked at Odin, then back at the group “that it truly is on its way. Have you come here before or after perusing the ancient prophecies?” his tone was only slightly condescending, as if Midgardians couldn’t possibly fathom the mysteries of the galaxies like he could.

 

“No signs? Then what the hell are we doing here?” Darcy surprised herself sometimes.

 

“Darcy!” Jane almost lost her balance on her chair, she turned around so fast

 

“I thought Asgardians were supposed to be smarter than us, smarter than us puny little mortals. And yet you haven’t detected anything more than we have. I bet Jane could run circles around you with what she knows, what she has the ability to do, even if it is based on Earth science”

 

Darcy had balled up her fists, and glared at Julius, who looked a little taken aback

Jane looked appalled at her rudeness, but also slightly flattered

Thor had attempted to move between Darcy and Julius, but she’d sidestepped him. Even so, he had the graciousness to not look annoyed, but rather surprised.

 

Odin looked oddly pleased, even sporting a more obvious smile this time.

 

 

Eventually, Odin broke the silence. “Perhaps, we should all work together, to find the truth.”

 

Darcy unclenched her fists, slightly reluctantly, held out a hand to Julius.

 

“sorry for making a scene, even if what I said was true.”

 

Julius was still for moment, then shook her head with his own. He even smiled a little

“you are right to be honest, even great astronomers need humility.”

 

“Ahem.” Jane coughed “can we resume studying the stars? Also, I need to see everything you’ve detected, even leading up to today. Including things you consider “normal”

 

at that, Julius nodded to another astronomer, who went to get what Jane requested.

 

Thor had rejoined the group, though not without speaking to Odin first.

 

Odin then left to deal with another matter, and said farewell to their guests.

 

Darcy followed his eyes as he left, nodding to everyone, even her. She wondered if Odin smiled at everyone new, or if something was going on. Or maybe he wasn’t as old and grumpy as she thought

 

Her train of thought was broken by Jane calling her over to help adjust a setting, so she could move the telescope.

 

“So, you think you can stop this, whatever it is?”

 

Jane looked up only briefly,

 

“I don’t know. All I can do is gather more data at this point”

 

at that, Darcy resumed helping, though she knew better than to do something without asking what it did first. She’d gotten her hand slapped by Jane way too many times for her to just reach out and recklessly turn the first knob she grasped.

 

 

As they worked, she hoped that if this was the end, they could prevent it. And if not, that she would spend more of her last days doing more than adjusting star gazing equipment.

 

Not that she was complaining already.

 

 

Loki strode out of the building, and back to the throne room, trying to decide whether or not to see the real Odin. He always thought he was too proud to ask Odin for help of any kind, and thus be beholden to him. But perhaps he could put his pride aside. He could always see if Odin knew more than he let on.

 

If this was the end, maybe it was better to gain knowledge from every source.

 

As he walked farther, he couldn’t help but recall Darcy’s brief outburst. It had surprised him, but it was fascinating to see her stand up to an Asgardian; it might’ve been the most fun he’d vicariously had since he had faked his death, locked up Odin and then deceived Thor.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More studying, Jane spots something and Loki muses.

They worked for hours, until Darcy’s stomach was grumbling loudly (so was Jane’s, but perhaps in a more delicate manner).

Right as they were wrapping up for the day, Thor returned (he’d gone and come back with a servant, bearing prophecy records about Ragnarok.)

 

Darcy had done most of the perusing, while Jane seemed fixed on observing every last star in every damn galaxy.

 

Thor had graciously grabbed a book, and sat next to Darcy. She appreciated that Thor was trying to be friends with her, and not just focus on his girlfriend.

 

In another time, she would’ve asked him questions while they read, but as it was, the atmosphere seemed too serious for that. Plus, she didn’t know Thor quite as well as Jane. Besides, this was his planet. He wasn’t a nameless abtastic homeless guy anymore, visiting Earth for the first time.

 

It had all seemed so new and shiny that first visit with Thor, and later his friends. She had survived the attack in New Mexico, presumably from Loki (though she never got the whole story about that). She’d even help save a few pets from the local pet store. She’d even helped with the science stuff in London (though not on her own.) Darcy had survived all that, and for what? For the universe to be destroyed? Ending in some horrible, drawn out way, and this time, Thor getting his hammer back wouldn’t do much good.

Maybe Jane’s science would have more luck.

 

Jane would tell her luck had nothing to do with it. But Darcy would disagree, just a little.

Her stomach growled again.

She wondered if asking if they were going to eat would seem rude. She didn’t know the rules around here.

 

But she decided to ask Thor anyway; because a hungry Darcy does not a good assistant make.

 

“Um,”

 

He turned toward her

“Yes, Lady Darcy?”

 

she decided to just go for it

 

“Got any food around here? And I need to make sure Jane eats something, she gets pretty obsessed with her work and forgets things like eating.”

 

At that, Thor and Darcy both looked at Jane. She was still engrossed in her work, but Darcy could tell she was wearing a little thin.

Nothing significant had happened yet, so maybe she could take a break.

 

Thor and Darcy exchanged a look, one where they both silently asked the other if they were going over to Jane first.

 

They both ended up going over, to make sure Jane would actually go with them

 

“Jane?” Darcy started cautiously, not wanting to interrupt an important train of thought

 

Jane was sitting hunched over a telescope, studying charts and books, with her own piece of parchment in front of her, writing down what looked like her own findings combined with what she’d found from Asgard’s history, perhaps with other histories of other realms as well.

 

She didn’t answer or show that she had heard her intern speaking.

 

“Jane, we’re thinking of getting something to eat. Wanna come?”

 

Thor had walked over to his girlfriend’s other side, and looked like he was about to speak when Jane suddenly started, making Darcy jump

 

“I see it! I see something. Just for a few seconds, but something was there I know it”

 

“What did it look like?” Thor’s voice brought the other astronomers (the ones who hadn’t left), to attention

 

and at that point Julius returned from wherever he’d gone, but whatever he was about to say was cut off when he saw that something was going on

 

Darcy recognized that tone. It was excited, and yet laced with an ominous undertone.

 

Rather than repeat her previous question, she walked back over to the book she’d been reading, and began flipping through it.

 

Feeling some adrenaline herself, Darcy found the right page

 

“Did it look like a dark patch growing between two galaxies? Like the boundaries are being destroyed?”

 

“How’d you know?”

 

“That’s how it starts.”

 

Darcy felt genuine dread now. Before it had been very quick and a bit of a blur, and sitting here had only made her feel uncertain. But this wasn’t uncertain; something was happening.

 

And it just might be the end.

 

 

Loki had sent the scribes to bring Thor and Jane and Darcy all the books and prophecies about Ragnarok. (He’d thought about magicking copies for himself, but there were copies enough, he didn’t need to resort to blowing his cover)

 

He, as Odin, had to be dignified and alert. But as the God of Mischief, as Loki, he wanted to know if an old enemy was causing this somehow.

 

But perhaps it wasn’t happening.

 

Then again, if nothing was happening, Thor wouldn’t have brought Jane here. Not unless it was an emergency, like the time before.

 

But this time her friend had tagged along. A curious female, spirited and blunt. If he wasn’t so busy impersonating his own adopted father, this would be a lot more fun.

 

The real Odin was well hidden, in a place only Loki could open. In the last months, he’d exhausted nearly all the useful knowledge the old man contained, not to mention find out what he’d planned to do about the dilemmas on other realms, etc. to make sure suspicions never arose.

 

And now, with his magic waning, he might actually need help. Or a solution. He was loathed to ask for help from anyone

 

He thought about going down there now, to see if Odin could reveal anything they couldn’t already find out about Ragnarok.

 

He was in the council chambers, empty at the moment. A messenger came inside, informed him that the Midgardians had found something.

 

He nodded, then decided to see for himself.

 

He turned to the door

 

For a moment, he thought he saw his real reflection in one of the chairs to his right.

 

A jolt of panic went through him, but just as quickly, his mirage was restored.

 

Shaking his head, he went to see about the end of the world.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everything about the realms and how close they actually could be, is off the top of my head
> 
> this might be longer than the previous chapter

Jane was the one who put together the science-y stuff that saved the world last time. Maybe it would this time, Darcy thought

 

 

There had to be a way to stop this. And if they couldn’t…maybe she could go back to Earth and maybe call her mom and say goodbye. She’d been at school for the last year, hadn’t seen much of her parents or her friends.

 

Working for Shield (still as Jane’s intern, though getting paid this time), better not stop her from seeing her mom.

 

Part of her knew that if there was a way to stop Ragnarok, then it felt like her duty to stay and help in any way she could.

 

Lord knows her political science degree wouldn’t help much to save the world.

 

Reading about the history of Asgard, and the prophecies concerning the end, was kinda interesting. Some of it was very long and complicated, but some points, like stories about specific kings or gods, weren’t too bad. She might’ve even liked reading it, had she not been reading it to find out about how the universe was going to end.

 

There were many prophecies about Ragnarok. It looked like some of them hadn’t come true, and all that had happened was one natural disaster, like a big storm that destroyed a palace or something.

 

But there was one that kept recurring.

 

_When darkness comes_

_The bonds of worlds will shatter_

_Time will stop_

_The old world end_

_Life will reverse_

_Ragnarok will fall_

It didn’t even rhyme. Then again, maybe Asgardians weren’t known for their poetry skills. The art was really realistic though, and it was what drew her to the picture of darkness spreading, blotting out galaxies and ultimately, all the Nine Realms. She couldn’t take her eyes away from how it wiped out everything.

 

Darcy wondered how long they’d been there. It felt like days, though she believed it to be only about half a day.

 

She didn’t think time passed differently here, Jane hadn’t said anything after her last little adventure.

 

Thor had graciously sent for food to be brought, and servants were just bringing in a table, chairs, and trays, when Odin came back in, to hear what they’d just found

 

Jane showed him, and Julius stood by, whether to confirm or just show support, Darcy didn’t know

 

She was still hungry, but fear was making her feel like if she ate, she wouldn’t even enjoy it.

 

But she ate anyway, suddenly feeling small. Despite her blunt nature, and tendency to not give a damn, she knew when she should stay out of the way.

 

Thor went to join his father and his girlfriend, while Darcy ate. She wondered if they would stay here or go back to Earth and warn as many as they could.

If it affected Earth, which it might not.

But she knew she was kidding herself.

Loki took in the news grimly, so naturally, that fit with Odin just fine. He briefly wondered if it really was the end, and not some other cosmic event.

 

Ragnarok had been prophecied for thousands of years; he remembered learning about it as a boy, but only a vague sort of nightmare that wasn’t real.

 

But he wasn’t foolish enough to dismiss what was happening.

 

Especially since the astronomers had seen it too, a few moments ago in fact, seen the bonds between two realms destroyed.

 

“Which realms are they?”

 

“Svartalheim and Helheim, your majesty”

 

“If there are any survivors, we must bring them here”,

He said as he faced Thor and Jane

 

“Agreed, father, I’ll go myself, but what if it spreads?” Thor’s concern was touching, but at least he wasn’t deluding himself into thinking there was any safe place left, at least not for long

 

“Then we find a way to stop it” Loki didn’t say those words as a way to reassure, only to prepare for the worst.

 

 

Jane was saying something, about some of her equipment and calculations were on Earth and how maybe she could get it and to find out more.

 

He had noticed that Darcy wasn’t standing with her friends. He glimpsed her at a table that had been brought in, eating, but had stopped when he walked in.

 

He probably couldn’t summon her just because he was king. Odin wouldn’t be so arrogant as to think he could childishly demand that a mortal stand at a certain place.

 

 

 

Darcy heard all they were saying, and though it still chilled her, she realized that if this really was the end, she could go down fighting. Even if there was no stopping it, she couldn’t curl into a ball and wait to die.

 

If there was even a tiny chance any of this could be stopped, she would help find it.

 

She hadn’t stood up at first, and then felt awkward that she hadn’t so she stayed seated.

But she did finally rise, and stand near Jane

 

Jane wanted to go back to Earth, get her science notes that she hadn’t had time to grab before coming here

 

“What do you need me to do?” Darcy almost never asked this. Normally Jane would instruct her, and Darcy would do it. Lately they fell into a routine, and instructions weren’t given since they each knew their tasks fairly well, unless there was a change

 

 

“Stay here. And wait for me to come back. Assuming Thor can spare the time to take me there and back” Jane turned to her man

 

“Of course, but what of the survivors? Do we know how many there are?”

 

“I will send to Heimdell, learn what he has seen”

 

Odin turned to a guard, who nodded and immediately went to the Seer.

 

“We should set off for Midgard”

 

Jane nodded. And turned to Darcy to say goodbye

 

Darcy turned to Jane, feeling an unexpected lump in her throat. She knew Jane would come back, but without her, she would feel even more alone and useless, though Jane never made her feel like that.

 

In the early days, Jane was sometimes annoyed with Darcy’s quips, but fortunately, they balanced each other out. Darcy helped Jane loosen up, even have fun, and Jane helped Darcy be a little more tactful sometimes. And she even seemed interested in her political science degree.

 

 

“come back soon. I’ll hold down the fort” Darcy tried to sound casual about it

 

“keep observing, Darcy. I know you can do this” Jane sounded reassuring, but still anxious.

 

Thor put his hand on Jane’s shoulder, and they left all too quickly.

 

 

 

Darcy took a deep breath and went to where Jane had been sitting and took a look through the telescope.

Occasionally looking at the spread open the books beside her, wondering if she would even see anything.

 

Odin was still there. She hadn’t paid much attention to him, though she felt a tad awkward not even speaking to him

 

He lingered for a moment, then turned to leave

 

\--

 

After about thirty minutes, Darcy was still alone, and it was growing darker outside. She hoped nothing had gone wrong

 

From what she observed, and what little she understood, nothing else had happened.

In any other time, this would’ve been fun. This telescope was no ordinary machine, it zoomed in, zoomed out, rotated, and if she adjusted a knob or two (she didn’t want to screw up Jane’s settings), she could identify planets.

 

The books Jane had been perusing had clearly labeled galaxies, stars, and the realms themselves.

 

_I bet Shield has detected something by now_

 

If they had, they might be wondering where their resident astro-physicist was

_. I could’ve gone with Jane, gone to Shield. Then I wouldn’t be stuck here alone._

 

Darcy shook her head; she couldn’t dwell on Shield right now, it might make things worse.

 

It had been more than hour now. She didn’t know for sure because she didn’t’ have a way to check the time. Asgardians probably used sun dials or some shit, but Darcy didn’t see any around her.

She wished she had her phone with her. Then she could at least call her mom, call Shield, call someone instead of looking at space waiting for more disasters to strike.

There hadn’t been time to get anything when they’d left her apartment. Her stuff would still be sitting there, laptop, bag of chips, phone that was probably going off – and wouldn’t be answered. She hoped if someone was calling, it wasn’t life or death.

 

 

She thought she felt a lump in her jacket pocket

 

Before she had time to investigate, she heard footsteps.

 

“your friend has returned” a lady informed her.

 

Darcy didn’t even nod, she just burst past and ran down hallways

 

Jane was back

 

 

Loki had seen how isolated Darcy looked after Jane had left, but he couldn’t linger.

 

But something was happening. One boundary was destroyed, how many more would be? And how fast?

 

He was willing to admit he was starting to feel desperate. Especially given that his magic had flickered out.

His foresight was blurry, almost gone. He could sense there would be other magic he would encounter, but he couldn’t see more than that.

 

It could be the magical means the world was ending by.

 

Night was falling, servants were going to their quarters for the night. It was now or never.

 

He made himself invisible, and carefully made his way to see Odin.

 

If Thor could see him now, groveling to the All-Father, he would probably believe its what Loki deserved.

 

But he couldn’t dwell on that now.

 

He reached the cell, and opened the door.

 

Odin was lying on the cot, but wasn’t asleep. He turned toward his adopted son, looking weary. His mobility was limited by the chains that held his wrists and ankles, the scepter taken away.

 

“What do you want?”

 

“A way to stop what’s happening.”

 

“And what is happening?” Odin’s voice was gravelly, but still retained vestiges of strength.

 

“Ragnarok” Loki said simply, not wanting to be here any more than Odin wanted to see him.

 

Odin truly sat up then, as fast as he was able. His face looked older than ever, worn and tired from his many long years.

 

“If this is true, there is no way to truly stop it.”

 

Loki couldn’t accept that. “Are you telling me the Great All Father himself doesn’t have a few tricks up his sleeve? What about protecting Asgard? Protecting your favorite son?”

 

“Even the best protections against Ragnarok would fail. Destruction and death await you.”

 

Odin seemed drained as he spoke even these few sentences.

 

“what protections?”

 

“surely you haven’t impersonated me all this time, and not know what safeguards could be put in place?” Despite the weariness, Loki detected just a hint of sarcasm and smugness

 

It was enough to spark anger in him

 

Before he could lash out at all, Odin spoke again

 

“I am not long for this world. Even if this isn’t the end, it is for me”

 

Loki shouldn’t have been surprised. Odin’s time had been approaching for a long while. He didn’t know how he felt; knowing the only father figure he’d know was going to be gone soon anyway. In the past, he would’ve cared more.

Now, he wished Odin would put up more of a fight. He briefly wondered if Odin was lying, and there really were effective weapons or protection against Ragnarok and Odin wasn’t telling, perhaps hoping for the end of Asgard.

 

“Maybe I won’t save your precious kingdom. Perhaps I will let it rot. It’s not my home after all”

 

Odin looked at him, a hint of disbelief in his words “It used to be, once. But Asgard will fall, and then you truly will have no home”

 

At that, Loki stood up and swept out the cell, sealing it behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane returns, more studying, Loki's thoughts on everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to post a rather long chapter, but after some revising, it won't be as long. Bit of filler, but still insightful

“OOmmph”

 

Darcy nearly tackled Jane from the force of the hug. Maybe she was being overemotional, but she couldn’t help it. It sucked being alone here

 

“You’re back”

 

“I’m back and I can’t breathe” Jane’s face was turning red

 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to.” Darcy let go, and stepped back. She even took a moment to glance at Thor, who was carrying a few boxes, dutiful boyfriend that he was

 

“It’s okay, I didn’t know you missed me so much”

 

They were walking back towards the astronomy room, winding their way through hallways, past rooms and doors, until they reached the dome again.

 

“You can set those there” with a thud, Thor complied with her request, setting the boxes down near telescopes.

 

Darcy hoped there was some solution tucked away in Jane’s papers and notebooks, because if she could stay busy, maybe she could forget that the end was coming.

 

“So what do we do first?” Darcy’s voice sounded normal, almost happy even. It temporarily disguised any fear that might’ve bled through.

 

Jane was over by the boxes, immediately started sorting through them

“We look through all I’ve observed the last two weeks, while still seeing if anything else happens.”

 

Thor’s voice cut in

“I must gather the Warriors and set out for Svartalheim. I will return”

 

Jane looked up, then walked over to him for a kiss. “Stay safe”

 

They smiled at each other, and Darcy kinda smiled too, but in a wistful sort of way. She didn’t have someone like Jane had Thor. She hadn’t found it yet (she tried not to let herself think that she wouldn’t ever find it now).

“Be careful, big guy”

 

Darcy grinned her usual grin, and Thor nodded back at her before leaving again.

 

 

The two woman went through everything they could, Darcy only needing a bit of help to both understand what she was looking at, as well as decipher some of Jane’s handwritten notes. (“Maybe I should write your notes for you, so both of us can actually read them” that had earned her a jab, but with a weary sort of smile.

 

They had taken turns observing, going back over the poem, but nothing else happened that night. Darcy felt like they were in a weird sort of limbo, of relief that Ragnarok hadn’t reached Asgard (or Midgard) yet, but also tension that it could strike at any moment. But there were Nine Realms to get through; though who knows in what order? What was the proper order anyway?

 

It was late before Darcy could convince Jane to call it a night, but as the rest of the castle was going to sleep, it would seem odd to just stay up all night and keep the servants awake with them.

 

“I mean, the world can’t be ending that quickly, can it? We can sleep first. The universe wouldn’t be so cruel” Darcy drowsily rambled. That happened when she was tired.

 

Jane’s reply was cut off with her own yawn.

 

A servant showed them to their rooms, which were right next to each other.

 

“night, Jane”

 

“night, Darce”

 

and with a sleepy wave, Darcy walked and collapsed on her bed. She made herself take off her shoes and jeans and jacket, and crawling under the incredibly soft covers, she fell asleep.

 

 

In the king’s quarters, Loki turned over fitfully, not able to fall asleep. He made it so he would have a warning before anyone knocked or approached the door, so he could have sufficient notice to change back. Of course, he realized he could try to make it to everyone saw him as Odin, while to himself he would retain his normal appearance, but lately it had been harder to pull off that level of complexity.

 

Now he knew why.

 

Loki hadn’t returned to see his brother come back, or see them again. He, as Odin, had of course made sure the servants took care of the visitors, and also to prepare to send out warnings to all the realms of what was happening.

 

But at the back of his mind, the real Odin’s words kept coming back to him

_But Asgard will fall, and then you truly will have no home_

He found it curious that Odin had seen he would have no home, as opposed to no throne.

He once thought he had a home, here. Though even then he remembered feeling like he was different, like he never truly belonged. And that was only intensified when he discovered who he really was.

It was true he wanted to rule, to even be given the consideration as a candidate might’ve been enough.

But no. Odin had just wanted to use him to bridge the gap between Asgard and Jotenheim. And deep down, he could almost understand it.

 

Loki shook his head.

 

All that had led to his (literal) fall from grace, and failing to bring the Tesseract to Thanos.

 

Not to mention being locked up without ever seeing his mother again. Of course she wasn’t really his mother; he had told Frigga as much.

 

He closed his eyes at that particular memory and tried to stem the tide of regret and pain. She had been one of the only good things about this place. Now she was gone.

 

And from the looks of it, Odin wasn’t too far behind, regardless of the pending apocalypse.

 

The old man had been cryptic is usual; perhaps he hadn’t trusted Loki with the knowledge of any possibly safeguards for Asgard, even with all the Realms in the balance. At one time, Loki might’ve even wanted Ragnarok to come and sweep it all away, just so it left him to watch it go.

 

He wasn’t so sure about that now. Not now, not when he finally had a throne.

 

If Odin had told him what he could do, then it might even help Jane Foster’s efforts, as well as her assistant.

 

Darcy had seemed so alone when her friends had left. Even if he had been himself, he might not have had the heart to tease her or otherwise cause mischief. That and chaos seemed to be some of the only things he was good at, so even if he tried to comfort her, he probably would’ve failed.

 

Oh when he had briefly ruled before, he had relished the chance to prove himself, but it was over so soon.

Now, he couldn’t rule how he wanted, he had to be like Odin, which was exactly who he did not want to emulate.

In seizing his chance to rule, he had only been caught in another trap, one of his own making. Not his brother, nor Odin, not even Shield had locked him up this time.

 

In his sleepless state, his mind wandered to what he had last sensed for the future: more magic, but not from him, but from outside of him. Was he merely sensing Ragnarok and the mystical, unexplainable means by which it was happening? If magic was somehow involved, could magic stop it?

 

His magic was weakening, that much was clear. Maybe he could force the truth out of Odin, set up the protection and restore his own magic. He couldn’t lose it; it made him feel powerful.

 

And it was all he had left of Frigga.

 

 

Another part of him, however small, knew he might have to help now. Frigga would’ve wanted him too.

 

 

 

Darcy slept well, though she awoke in the semi morning hours. She normally would sleep in till the sun was higher in the sky, but she decided to try to be busy. She thought she even felt renewed hope at the possibility of tackling the books and things with fresh eyes.

 

 

She was just putting on her jeans when there was a soft knock at the door.

 

She hesitated, not knowing how to respond, but then she heard Jane’s voice

 

“It’s me, Darcy. Are you awake?”

 

she hastily zipped and buttoned her pants, then rushed over to open the door.

 

“come on in, early bird.”

 

“We didn’t get a chance to talk about all this.”

 

“yeah, well shouldn’t we go back and be all sciency again?”

 

“we have time before we should go back at again. What time is it anyway?”

 

Darcy suddenly remembered her phone, and what had happened (though she didn’t quite believe it). She wondered if she should tell Jane about it, though she had no idea what good it would do. Maybe she had grabbed it and forgot about it. Maybe her mind was messing with her. Either way, she had it now. It was definitely a comfort that eased her fears, even a little.

 

“Um, it’s 7:30,” Darcy read off the time of her still charged phone.

“Okay, see, we can relax, maybe eat.”

 

“Jane Foster is actually remembering and suggesting breakfast? Who are you and what have you done with my favorite scientist?”

 

Jane laughed a little.

 

“Maybe while we eat, Thor will come back and have news about what exactly happened: from a scientific point of view, of course. I understand that more than the mysterious or mystical side of things”

 

“But you also study the strange and unusual, even the impossible, especially since you met Thor. So that could change your perspective. It kinda changed mine”

 

Jane paused, then cocked her head. Then actually smiled

 

“you’re right. I don’t think I thought of it that way.”

 

“So maybe there’s something we haven’t found yet, to help us stop this. If anyone can find it, you can”

 

“You’ll help me?”

 

Joy and emotion bubbled up inside Darcy, and echoed in her response

“Course I will. And maybe we’ll find something by the time our resident God of Thunder returns”

 

“Let’s go eat first” Jane grinned in spite of herself

 

“Good idea” Darcy stood up

 

“and you might want to put on something that isn’t pajamas. Where’d you get those anyway?”

 

Jane looked down at herself

 

“they left them out for me, they probably did the same for you too, see?”

 

She pointed at the nightstand, on which sat perfectly folded pajamas, a lovely shade of green.

 

“Oh. Well I was too tired to think, much less put on foofy pajamas”

 

Darcy secretly thought she might just wear them tonight; lord knows she didn’t have anything else to wear to sleep, much less the rest of the time. She should probably ask someone about that (or try to go back home and get more of her stuff)

 

“okay, well wait for me to come back then.”

 

Jane left, leaving Darcy to wonder how long those pjs had been there.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more research, but crazy stuff happens.

 

They had been there several days, and had even gone to see Odin and Heimdall. The Seer had observed how the boundaries between Svartalheim and Helheim had first weakened, then dissolved, creating a kind of implosion. There were survivors, but there wasn’t much else to tell. Nothing else had happened, though Jane, now that she knew what she was looking for, thought she could detect the beginnings of another “event” for lack of a better word.

 

Both ladies got clothes to wear, though more formal than they would normally wear. Still, given their situation, it was a good deal. Darcy loved her dress, all flowy and green, with an empire waist. She’d love it even more if she could wear it to a party, not to research in.

 

Speaking of, Darcy tried to be optimistic. They did learn more about the prophecies, and about all the realms. She didn’t try to memorize them, but still listened and did what Jane asked of her.

 

She knew that Jane had come up with a solution the last two times. She tried to not think of how this was worse than one alien invading, or even multiple alien ships.

 

One morning Darcy was up before Jane came to get her, so she knocked on Jane’s door and was let in while Jane went back to changing.

 

“I bet they don’t even have waffles here, even after I explained what they were” Darcy said, looking around the room, and out the windows. She walked closer and saw that the sun was higher now; illuminating the cities and water, like there was nothing wrong in the world.

 

 

Jane was just popping out to respond to her comments, when there was a knock at the door.

 

Taking a cue from Jane, Darcy went to open it, to find a pleasant surprise

 

“Hey Thor, you’re back”

 

Confusion looked oddly adorable on him, but he took in stride

“Indeed I am. Is this not Lady Jane’s room? I was told - ”

 

“Oh it is, I’m just hanging out in there while she gets dressed”

 

Thor nodded, while Darcy called back

 

“Hey boss lady, your boyfriend’s here”

 

Footsteps, something was knocked over, and Jane was just pulling a shirt on when she dashed out of the bathroom.

She hugged him, but then launched straight into a speech

 

“Hey, listen, what did you learn? I know we heard from Heimdall what happened and me and Darcy have been working around the clock –“

 

Darcy nodded vigorously, not wanting to interrupt

 

“- so you need to tell me, how many survivors were there? Did they describe what happened? Was it gradual, or all at once? Did they see anything? How did those realms look, after whatever happened?”

 

“I’ll explain on the way,” Thor said, suddenly a bit more serious, though obviously happy to be home.

 

Jane stopped to grab the notes she’d brought in last night (Darcy normally would’ve made a comment about Jane being a workaholic, but restrained herself. This might not be the time to criticize Jane’s work method)

 

Thor explained what he could, that the survivors heard a distant rumbling, like an earthquake. Soon there were screams and collapsing buildings and mountains falling. Some had survived, but barely. Thor and others had helped who they could, bringing them back to Asgard, making arrangements for them to be taken to other realms. In the event that other realms fell victim to this catastrophe, Asgard would try to provide help.

 

“What kind of help?” Darcy asked, before Jane could inquire more about the science of it all

“My father has said there are safeguards in place, but he didn’t tell me exactly what they are. He has a lot on his mind”

 

They reached their normal room, with their papers and instruments and equipment exactly how they left it. Darcy had warned a servant that trying to tidy up without Jane’s instructions would only cause problems.

 

Jane wanted to see the survivors now, but Thor said that many of them were being treated for injuries and she could see them when they were done.

 

Darcy reached for the book she’d left on the chair, and flipped it open to a random page, trying to find where she’d left it.

 

Was it page 23 or 26? Something like that…Darcy reached page 23. Nope, not it. She flipped through more, pausing only to make sure she had the right book.

 

Yep, right there on the cover: Uncovering Ragnarok’s Mysteries. She reopened the book from where she’d been holding her place, but she suddenly found herself at the right page. Confusion set in; she hadn’t been at the right one when she double-checked the title, so how could it have changed?

 

Maybe the book was reading her mind; they could have magic books here that could do that. Or maybe she was going crazy.

 

But this was the second time something weird had happened. Little things, but still unmistakable; maybe she should actually say something about it now.

 

 

“Jane, are you well?” He sounded concerned and cautious

 

She looked up at the sound of Thor’s voice

 

Jane didn’t answer, she just stared straight ahead, having backed away from the telescope.

 

Darcy put down her book and rushed over to her

 

Jane was standing stock still, one hand still on a telescope, but not looking through it. Her eyes were wide, with fear or shock.

 

“Jane” she started, “Jane!”

 

Jane jumped, startled “What happened?”

 

“You zoned out there for a minute”

 

“I…I saw something”

 

this time Thor cut in

 

“What did you see”

 

“It’s impossible” she sounded scared

 

“just spit it out, Jane, whatever it is, we’ll figure it out” Darcy tried to sound helpful, though she starting to feel scared herself

 

“I could see the realms from here”

 

 

Darcy and Thor shared a glance, equally confused and concerned

 

“Well, that’s what it’s for, isn’t it?” she tried to be cautious, even as she was blunt.

 

“no, you don’t understand.” Jane turned to both of them

“I could see the people, see what was happening on nearly every realm. I stopped before it got to all of them.”

 

Darcy was speechless. Thor on the other hand, took to questions

 

“how long has this been happening?”

 

“I thought yesterday that the instruments became more advanced since I had left, and I saw the realms closer up and more distinguished from each other, but just now, it changed.”

 

“I should send for my father, he could explain this”

 

Jane looked fearful, but still determined as she nodded

 

He turned to a servant, and gave the message.

 

While they waited, they all sat together on a bench, while Thor gently questioned Jane some more.

All the while, Darcy felt the weight of her own secret that she now suspected wasn’t her mind playing tricks on her.

 

Darcy tried to pay attention to the conversation around her, but her own situation kept distracting her. If Jane suddenly had the ability to see, to really See like that Heimdall dude, then what if she herself had an ability too?

 

First her phone, then the page. What next?

 

 

 

Loki had been busy trying to contact realms and warn them of what was happening, not to mention seeing to the survivors. He had questioned them himself, and didn’t come up with much that Heimdall didn’t already see.

 

It had been so sudden, almost total destruction of two realms. From what Jane Foster (and Darcy too, he couldn’t forget), had discovered, it had begun at the boundaries between two realms.

 

If two realms were already damaged, then there were only seven more to go. Would they all happen that way, two would crumble at a time?

There was no way to know if it would continue in that pattern or if it would turn out to be random destruction

 

He was alone at the moment, pacing back and forth in a deserted room, trying to gauge how fast his magic was fading.

 

Perhaps fading was the wrong word. He felt a decrease, yes, but not a constant one. At certain moments he felt a tug, an invisible pull, like his magic was being siphoned, though not drained completely. Loki didn’t know what to make of it.

Problem was, as those surges came, he felt that the thing he was most intent on outwardly maintaining (his disguise) was slipping away.

 

He would need magic to protect Asgard, that was certain. But that might mean abandoning his façade and truly putting all his effort into playing the savior. (he wondered if he should try to protect Midgard too; evacuate the realms and move them to somewhere he could more easily protect). He knew that not only would the mortals want their planet saved, but also Thor would too, who had a soft spot for “Earth” as it was called.

 

But he didn’t. He didn’t care.

 

However, he couldn’t deny that he didn’t exactly hate Jane. Or Darcy. Darcy; now there was a mortal he could possibly spar with. She was beautiful, feisty, spirited. Even in her loneliness and fear, she carried herself well. In another time, a long time ago, he might’ve cared for her.

 

Where did that come from?

 

He clenched his fist, then let it go. It felt pathetic, to let emotion rule him. He had been impulsive in the past, even chaotic to a point, but emotional? No. Not since he had found out who he really was, or rather what he was.

 

If the end truly was coming, then Jotenheim would be destroyed. It was amusing, after trying to destroy that desolate place, trying to deny his true heritage, that it would crumble without any involvement from him.

 

He hadn’t been able to find out what Odin had been talking about, safeguards against Ragnarok. For all he knew, the old man was lying just to toy with him before the end.

 

He wouldn’t put it past his adoptive father. It wouldn’t be the first time the man had lied about something important.

 

The door opened.

 

Yet again, he was given a message to come and see Thor and his friends. This time, the messenger sounded much more uncertain than usual

 

 

 

They were waiting for Odin to come, so they could explain why they had called him.

Thor assured Jane that his father would know what to do, as well as Heimdall, who was also asked to come.

 

Darcy had offered more reassuring words to Jane as well, but Thor seemed to be slightly calmer about this. Darcy, on the other hand, stood quietly while the other two sat together, talking amongst themselves.

 

What if her and Jane were gaining new abilities? What if they could stop Ragnarok? If not, then what was the point of this? Why would this happen now?

 

At that moment, she felt a tingling feeling in her hands, and, there was no other word for it, a mental sort of tug. And it was then that whatever was happening to her felt more tangible than ever.

 

She felt the tingling grow. It didn’t hurt, it actually felt pleasant but it scared her.

 

“What has happened?”

 

Just as Odin walked in, and Thor and Jane stood up,

 

Darcy’s hands began to emanate something, she didn’t know.

 

She began breathing heavily

 

“What – what’s happening to me?”

 

The other three looked at her, clearly alarmed.

 

“Darcy, what are you doing?”

 

“I don’t know!”

 

Thor and Odin were instantly on their guard. Loki suddenly realized what that tug on his magic had been; it was from her.

 

Her fear seemed to make it worse as objects began flying around the room and the wind kicked up

 

Suddenly Loki appeared, taking the place of Odin.

 

They could still hear her scream above the sound of the wind.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> truth comes out, connection between Loki and Darcy, they all go to see someone.

This wasn’t happening, Darcy thought.

 

It wasn’t happening, she was still at home, sleeping, and this was only a nightmare.

 

But it wasn’t a nightmare.

 

It was all too real, and Darcy couldn’t feel anything except terror and her newly discovered magic coursing through her.

 

It heightened her senses, making her feel more alive. She could feel and hear and see at a whole new level.

 

Which might’ve been exhilarating had it not been for Loki’s sudden appearance.

 

For split second, Jane and Thor didn’t fully realize why she was screaming.

 

They had started to rush forward, but fortunately, Jane was quick to realize that Darcy wasn’t screaming into the void, but rather was looking at the person standing next to them.

 

Her friend then grabbed Thor, who turned to look at her, and in doing so, saw who was really behind them.

 

“Loki?” He sounded disbelieving, but it soon turned to anger “What have you done?”

 

Loki felt his magic seep away, changing his appearance. But he couldn’t stop it; he was caught.

 

In any other circumstance he might’ve felt smug, or reckless. Maybe a little flustered, but otherwise unbothered.

 

Not this time.

 

The girl’s scream made it so much worse. Part of him felt angry with her for this; what if she did this on purpose? He wondered if there was a way for a Midgardian to steal the magic of a god: but that had to be impossible.

 

He could still feel traces of his magical ability, but the rest was clearly evident in Darcy, who had stopped wailing, but couldn’t control her new ability.

 

He heard Thor’s rebuke clear as day, but he didn’t have time for that. He needed his magic back. (and Vahalla help him, he needed to help her. He knew all too well what it felt like to be taken over by something you had no control over)

 

“I can help her!” He shouted at Thor, hoping his brother would believe him.

 

Thor looked ready to respond, but Jane stopped him.

 

“we can go with him, and stop him if he tries anything with her. We don’t have time to argue!” she looked directly at him now “if you hurt her, or do anything other than help her, you’ll regret it”

 

\--

Darcy tried to pay attention to what they were saying, but with all the power and fear now running through her uncontrollably, she couldn’t even scream anymore.

 

She felt tears running down her cheeks

 

“I can’t control this! Help me!” The words came out choked, but she couldn’t care about that the moment.

 

 

There was a moment where Jane, Loki and Thor all gave each other a final look, and then all three of them made to approach her

 

“Jane, no, I don’t want to hurt you accidentally”

 

despite the fear on her friend’s face, she was remarkably calm

“It’s okay, I’m here Darcy. You won’t hurt me”

 

She tried to breathe, to do anything to slow down what was happening. She thought she felt the wind slow down a little, but not completely

 

Flanked by Jane and Thor, both tensed for action, Loki walked closer to her until he was an arms length away

 

“Listen, Darcy, you need to trust me”

 

“How am I supposed to trust you? You weren’t you a minute ago!”

 

“Because you don’t have a choice” He sounded calm, but she thought she could detect frustration and uncertainty

 

She still felt panicked, but just talking to him distracted her, even a little.

 

She closed her eyes and breathed, only opening them when she felt his hands in her own.

 

For a second, their eyes met, and she was struck by their vividness.

 

Then their hands met, and almost instantly she knew.

 

She knew that what was happening to her was magic, that she had magic, and that she shared it with Loki.

 

\--

 

Loki had wanted his magic back; that had been a priority. But even he wasn’t callous enough to help the girl just for that reason.

 

Seeing her look so helpless and scared, crying out for help, and especially after his cover was blown, he had to do something to stop Thor from throttling him then and there

 

Besides, he now knew why he’d felt a drain on his magic, felt a pull towards something, now he knew it was someone.

 

Their hands met, and he knew. He shared his magic with this Midgardian, impossible though it was.

 

He was sure she felt it too, because she couldn’t take her eyes off of his own.

 

She had beautiful eyes.

 

The magic seemed to stabilize itself as they clasped hands and breathed together, seeing what the magic had shown them. The things that had been flying around softly landed back in their places

 

Thor and Jane had moved from tense positions to simply standing there in awe. Though Thor still looked pissed

 

Darcy’s fear was still present, though notably less, now that she understood what was what.

 

On to the second matter of business.

 

Loki’s hands were still clasped with her own, giving her a warm, wonderful feeling – wait what?

 

Why would she think that? He had impersonating the king! And from what little she knew of him, he definitely wasn’t a good person.

 

Darcy looked down at their hands

 

“um,”

 

Loki was looking back her, studying her, probably making sure she was calm enough to let go

 

“are we done?”

 

she didn’t know what made her say it, it just slipped out, sounding more harshly than she meant.

 

He was too guarded to let too much emotion show at once, so his response was still mostly calm

 

“you’ll get the hang of it, it’ll be effortless after a while”

 

Darcy didn’t see Thor until he started to speak, and then she saw what a god really looks like

 

“How are you here? How did you survive?” Loki didn’t answer at first

 

“TELL ME HOW”

 

Darcy went to stand by Jane while the two men had it out

 

“what happened, Darce?”

 

Darcy half shrugged

 

“I can’t really explain it, other than it was magic”

 

“magic?”

 

Darcy nodded, but she wanted to hear the other conversation going on. It distracted her from what had just happened with her and Loki

 

“I survived, I’m a survivor, I’m totally sure how, but I did, I came back, and yes, I impersonated _your_ father and did damn good job of it.”

 

“Did you kill him?”

 

“Sorry?”

 

“Did you kill Odin All Father?”

 

Loki hesitated. Could he really reveal his other secret now?

 

“ANSWER ME” Thor roared

 

“No. I kept him tucked away, just in case.”

 

“Where.”

 

“Well I could show you, or just fetch him myself, shall I-“ Darcy could practically smell the sarcasm off him

 

 

Thor and Jane grabbed him before he could finish, leaving Darcy standing there by herself for a minute, until she ran to catch up with them.

 

Curse tall people and their long ass legs.

 

She could hear the conversation ahead of her

 

“you’re taking us to him and we’re all going to sit down and talk this out”

 

“Is that your idea of a productive use of our time? I thought we should try to stop Ragnarok”

 

Thor ignored him

 

“You were dead, how are you here?” Jane’s voice now, not as angry, more like shocked

 

Long before he heard them coming, the real Odin was lying asleep, when something woke him up.

 

At first he didn’t realize what it was, but then he looked up at the glass nearest him

 

And a crack was slowly inching its way down.

 

The magic was weakening, changing.

 

If he had been a younger man, Odin would’ve seized the chance, but as it happened, he wasn’t sure he had the strength anymore.

 

He started to sit up, just as he caught a glimpse of a strange sight: Thor and Loki were coming to see him, with Jane Foster.

 

And another Midgardian girl.

\---

somewhere, far away, though not as far as one might think, more realms were in danger. And one of them was Earth.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Odin finds out everything, everyone sits down and talks, Darcy swears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Odin's cell is made of glass, but disguised to the outside world.
> 
> also, I'm trying to tie this in to how this story ends, in my own imperfect way, so bear with me
> 
> thanks for all the kudos and comments and hits! I'm glad people seem to like this story

 

Odin thought he was dreaming, but experience taught him that sometimes life was infinitely stranger than dreams.

 

The way everything with Loki had turned out, for example, had not gone the way he planned.

 

Speaking of, it seems Loki’s little secret was coming out.

 

He could hear the group’s voices getting louder as they approached

 

“-if you are lying again, I’ll – “ Thor’s angry voice was unmistakable

 

“You’ll kill me? As I recall, last time we were together I helped you! This is how you repay me?” Loki sounded frustrated, but still relatively together

 

“you didn’t torture him, did you?” Jane’s voice unexpectedly cut in

 

“no, I did not. My previous misdeeds not withstanding, were my efforts to protect you worth so little to you?” it appears Loki wasn’t merely taking the proverbial gloves off, he was throwing them into the fire

 

They rounded a corner, and Odin had gotten his first glimpse of them.

 

As expected, his sons, and Jane Foster.

 

Followed by a girl he did not know.

 

He had a feeling he was about to.

 

 

They walked down a hallway, Darcy following the other three, not sure what to say. Not that she could get a word in edgewise anyway, though she would’ve liked to.

 

Like have Loki explain what the hell just happened, because despite her experience, she didn’t have anything to compare it to, so she was still in the dark about this.

 

It also occurred to her that Loki didn’t know what was happening to Jane, given that she herself had interrupted that little conference.

 

She kept her hands nervously tucked in folded arms, unsure what to do with them, or what to do if the glowing started up again.

 

She almost bumped into Jane when they reached their destination.

 

It looked like an ordinary wall at first, and then she saw Loki reach out, and after a moment, a glass wall appeared. With a crack in it, she noticed.

 

An old man was sitting up on a bed, peering at them as if he was not entirely surprised to see them.

 

She came closer and recognized him as Odin

 

“so that’s the real Odin, I presume.” It was a statement, not a question

 

Jane nodded at her, and came back to stand next to her while Thor and Loki stayed in front of them.

 

“Father, what has he done to you?” Thor sounded angry, but also desperate

 

“all he has done,” Odin said, trying to stand, “Is lock me away and ask me questions. It seems he needed help to impersonate me”

 

Loki’s face flashed a hint of contempt, then appeared calm, “it might’ve been beyond even my capabilities to impersonate the All Father without a safety net in place. Wouldn’t you agree, Thor?”

 

Thor merely glared at him, though he couldn’t hide the fact that he was relieved his brother was alive, no matter how much crap Loki had pulled

 

At least that was Darcy’s assessment

 

She whispered to Jane

“you should tell the real Odin what was going on with you,” Jane looked at her, surprised, “before, you know, stuff started happening with me”

 

Jane kinda gave a half smile, then said nervously

“only if you tell him what happened with you. And Loki”

 

“hey, I ended up stealing your moment, you should go first now.”

 

“We both need to tell him”

 

“And if both Midgardian ladies are done conversing, they can both tell me what has changed with them”

 

Jane and Darcy looked up, sheepish at being caught.

 

Thor pulled Loki aside, and made room for the two woman to stand next to them

 

Darcy tried to not look at Loki, even though she was barely a foot away from him.

She knew he had once gone homicidal and started that big battle in New York, but she also knew he had helped Jane and Thor, and died in the process. Though apparently, he hadn’t actually died.

 

“We could all be more comfortable in here, or if someone could magick me out of this cell.” Odin said pointedly, and Loki sighed.

 

He was reaching up, when Darcy interrupted him

 

“there’s a crack in the glass, your magic might break it”

 

Loki looked first at her, then at where she was pointing. His shoulder brushed hers, and she felt her magic tug at her again. She tried to ignore it

 

 

That was curious, he thought.

 

For once, he was curious, not hostile, in his question

 

“How long has that been there?”

 

Odin waited a moment before answering

“it appeared moments ago”

 

Then it must’ve happened when whatever it was occurred, when the - Darcy hesitated to even think it - when the magic happened. God that sounded stupid

 

Course, what else would’ve caused it?

 

After a rather awkward pause, Thor let him go, and Loki magicked them all in, with no other choice. He almost felt relieved, but it still went against his nature to submit to Odin in any way. Then again, the world was apparently ending, and he was linked to a mortal. What else could go wrong?

 

A lot, it seemed.

 

Odin sat back down on the bed, and Thor pulled up a chair for Jane. Loki magicked a chair for himself, and after a moment, seeing Darcy was the only one standing, conjured her one too, the same as his own.

 

For a second, Darcy wondered if the chair would disappear right as she sat down, given that Loki was supposed to be a Trickster. But she sat anyway, and it held firm. She wondered what this link between her and Loki meant, and how it was possible. She tried to not feel too nervous about it; her hands were thankfully glow-free, but getting sweatier by the minute as she clasped and unclasped them.

 

“So, you come to me for help yet again?” It was said matter of factly, but Darcy thought she sensed something else, but she wasn’t sure what

 

“Again?” Thor interrupted Loki’s response. “you came to see him before? You must be truly desperate”

 

Loki looked at Thor, a cold sort of smile on his face as he recognized his own words coming back at him.

 

“I did. But this time it’s not about Ragnarok, it’s about –“ and Darcy swore his eyes flickered to her, “-another matter”

 

Jane looked at Thor, then back at Odin, not saying anything at first

 

Darcy didn’t know if she wanted to go first or second. At least Jane had been here before, seen the King before.

Thor graciously started

 

“Just before we came here, we asked for the King to come to the astronomy room, to hear what had just happened with Lady Jane.”

 

Loki’s head popped up. “what happened to you, Jane? I thought Lady Darcy – “

 

Jane piped in

“That’s why we called you – or you impersonating Odin, I mean, your majesty “ she looked at the real Odin, who gave a gesture signaling that it didn’t matter, but keep going.

“because, well, something happened with me, but when he got there, something happened with my friend too – “

 

 

“so both are experiencing something strange? You could’ve told me” Loki didn’t seem too upset, but still surprised

 

“we didn’t get a chance to tell you, what with my hands making with the glowy glowy and shit just hit the fan –“ Darcy just blurted it out, fit to burst Darcy could feel anxiety rising, her magic was still uncontrolled, untamed, and she could feel it. Everyone talking at once, interrupting each other, it was too much.

 

“Lady Darcy. Jane Foster”

 

Odin seemed to have mustered enough strength to be heard over everyone, even briefly

 

“One at a time, tell me what happened.”

 

And so they did, Thor starting with what he had seen, with Darcy nodding along, recounting how Jane had suddenly gone still, and then said she could see the realms and its people just like Heimdall could.

 

Jane confirmed it, then turned to Darcy

 

“Um, something happened with me too” She took breath, “my hands, started glowing, and there was magic, or something, coursing through me. And Loki suddenly appeared, which was totally freaky, but he helped me calm down and not blow shit up. Or not blow shit up, I wouldn’t have done that. Not on purpose anyway” She swore much more when she was jittery

 

Odin looked from her to Jane, then back.

 

“er, that’s it. Then we all marched down here because Loki was alive and not dead, and…yeah” she finished lamely.

 

There was another pause

 

Odin looked at Loki

 

“you helped her? You dropped your disguise to help her?” He sounded both disbelieving while trying to stay objective, Darcy thought

 

“My disguise dropped on its own, it had been wavering. I felt a pull on my magic” Darcy looked up, eyes wide with surprise. “and now I know it was her. And yes, I helped her. To save my own skin as much as anyone else’s”

 

Loki didn’t think Odin would believe him if he didn’t throw in a line about selfishness. Much less if he told him what had happened with the Dark Elves and how then and now, he was helping for Frigga, what she would’ve wanted.

 

He couldn’t lower himself that far in front of the man who imprisoned him.

 

“Show me,” Odin made to stand, Thor helped him

 

“Tell me what you see, Jane Foster. And you, Lady Darcy, I am pleased to meet. Show me what you have told me.”

 

Jane and Darcy looked uncertainly at each other

 

“The fate of the world may change in light of your new abilities. For I believe you will be able to stop what is coming”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our unlikely team is formed. Stuff gets figured out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to get this to what I have planned for how this ends. Forgive any inconsistencies, and thanks for reading!

Odin wasn’t exactly trusting of Loki, but it seemed he wasn’t about to put up a fight or have a hissy fit about having to team up with his younger son.

 

They made a rather odd bunch, no matter how you looked at it. The king of Asgard, newly released from a cell, the one who had been pretending to be said king now restored to his normal form, a big lovable teddy bear with a hammer that could kill you (at least that’s how Darcy put it in her head), and then two ordinary humans.

 

Or as it turned out, not so ordinary.

 

They made their way back, Darcy muttering to Jane about whether or not Loki should cloak them all instead of just disguising and binding himself magically to one of them.

 

“if he was invisible, he might try to escape. Maybe. I don’t know”

 

“didn’t he save your life last time, or like help protect you, or whatever?” They rounded the corner, and Darcy tried to whisper more quietly.

 

“yes, he did. I just don’t know if that stuck, since he jumped from that to impersonating the king”

 

Darcy didn’t say anything else after that. Thor’s attention was mainly on Loki and his father, and occasionally Jane. He even spared her a glance or two, to which she returned an awkward smile.

 

She wanted to talk to Loki, find out about what the hell was happening to her, and why it was connected to him. Lord knows she had no clue.

 

 

They finally reached their destination, which was mercifully empty.

 

“Thor,” Odin spoke up, voice sounding like he hadn’t used it much, “send for Heimdall. Loki can sit with you when you are done, while Lady Darcy and Lady Jane show me what they are now capable of”

 

Loki looked like he would rather poison himself than do anything Odin requested of him.

 

Odin’s eyebrows rose at that.

 

“Would you rather bind yourself to a mortal? I’m sure you think of them as unworthy, even the one you deigned to help?”

 

Loki still frowned at that, but Thor stepped in, obviously not trusting Loki to not do something other than simply bind himself to one of the mortal women.

 

Darcy wondered if Loki had some part in causing Ragnarok, or if it was no one’s fault and it was simply inevitable. She also wondered when the next disaster would strike

 

 

They sat, waiting, while Jane looked through the device again, and again confirming what she saw. Odin nodded, clearly curious, but not saying much.

 

Darcy and Loki were seated a bench, close to the others. They could hear a servant bring Heimdall back, his deep voice unmistakable.

“So Loki is alive? What does this have to do with myself?”

 

Once he entered he took one look at Jane, and Heimdall bowed his head to her. After that, he heard of what she suddenly found herself able to do, and after a short pause, he spoke

 

“you have the Sight, Lady Foster. It is an honor to meet one with a gift similar to mine.”

 

“similar? Not the same?”

 

“it is close, but you are able to see one realm at a time, to focus individually first, then see the whole. It is the opposite for myself. Nevertheless, it is rare for a mortal to have this power.”

 

“Do we know why this is happening now? Aside from the coming darkness?” Heimdall turned to Odin (who, incidentally, had been fairly restored to health, as much as Loki could muster. It seems there are things even magic couldn’t do, and Odin was coming to the end. Nothing would delay the inevitable.)

 

“I have my suspicions, but it remains a mystery”

 

“thank you” Jane smiled, seemed happy to know even a little more

 

She went to sit by Darcy, looking considerably more calm.

 

She nudged Loki, trying to put on her normally bold face, as she silently asked if he wanted to come with her. Her ability seemed to concern him, anyway.

 

He slowly looked at her. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking

 

Loki, for his part, was thinking so many things at once

 

_What did it mean, that he was linked to a mortal?_

_Just another thing to make him less significant_

_But how? How did this happen?_

_He had admired her spirit, her boldness._

_And if he was honest, he still did._

_And he had felt it; their connection._

_It scared him because he hadn’t shared magic in a long time._

_And this wasn’t just sharing magic for Vahallla’s sake, it was different._

_This time it wasn’t on purpose._

He almost didn’t hear Darcy’s words

 

“Want to come with me? You might prevent another breakdown”

 

For a second, he looked like he would like to, but one glimpse of Odin waiting, and he shook his head.

 

Jane took her place on the bench beside Thor. Darcy hesitated a little, unsure of how to “prove” her power. Or ability, whatever.

 

Sensing her hesitation, Jane leaned forward and whispered to her

 

“I think you’ll be okay. Odin seems to like you. Unlike our first meeting, yours actually went well.”

 

“really?” Darcy hadn’t heard much of the details of what happened when Jane had visited, so she didn’t have anything to compare this to.

 

“yeah. And I’m a tad jealous”

 

“of me?” Darcy had never gotten the impression that Jane could ever be jealous of her, what with Darcy’s propensity for bluntness/tactlessness and tendency to blurt out shit.

 

“well, you can usually break the ice, make people feel comfortable.” Jane smiled at her

 

“Thanks, boss” That made Darcy feel a little more reassured

 

She noticed Loki had turned away, but she got the impression that he was listening and that he would’ve even wanted to add something if asked.

 

“Lady Darcy?”

 

She turned towards Odin’s voice, and saw them waiting for her. She started towards them

 

But she hadn’t gotten two steps away from Jane and Loki, when she heard his voice

“Don’t force it. Remember to relax, and breathe”

 

She looked back at him, but he was looking away again.

 

Slowly, she continued the trek toward the king of Asgard…and whatever position this other guy filled, because she wasn’t sure what it was called.

 

They both greeted her, and were gracious, though obviously waiting for her to do something

 

She closed her eyes (hoping it wasn’t disrespectful to do so), and unclenched her hands.

 

Deep breathe and she let whatever she was feeling be released

 

She wasn’t sure it worked until she heard a verbal response

 

“You had an untapped magic before, now it has been triggered. Do we know by what?”

Heimdall eyed her curiously as he spoke. She wished her “gift” had been similar to his, then maybe she would get more of an explanation.

 

Odin turned to face across the way she’d came, towards Loki and the rest.

“She mentioned something about Loki helping her when her powers manifested”

 

“Did she?” then in an undertone, “are we sure he didn’t do anything to her? Perhaps we should check for that”

 

Darcy understood their concerns, and she even realized it was a possibility. But he had seemed just as unsure and surprised as she was when it had happened.

 

Then there was the question of why his disguise dropped when it did. If he wanted to do something to her, why would he do that and risk his cover?

 

The meeting seemed to be over now, as Heimdall went back to his post, after putting a hand on Jane’s shoulder and saying something Darcy couldn’t hear

 

She turned to Odin. “I’m not sure he did anything to me. Why would he help me or drop his disguise if he did something to me? That’d be too obvious”

 

Odin looked at her, with an unreadable expression.

 

“you do not know him like I do. He is capable of tricking and deceiving wherever he goes.” She went to interrupt, but he held up a hand, “the world as we know it may be ending, and that’s why I have not put him in chains yet again, but your safety, as is the safety of all the realms, is a priority”

 

At that, dread dropped into Darcy’s stomach like a lead ball. But her curiousity remained, no matter Odin’s ominous orations.

 

 

In any event, she said nothing more; though she was sure her face betrayed whatever emotion she was feeling.

 

Thor, Loki and Jane all came to where her and Odin were standing, and he sat down.

 

“Resume your work, Lady Jane. And we will read and study what we can. Loki, if you would.”

 

A wordless conversation passed between them, until Loki finally shrugged and did the motion.

Nearly instantly, Odin looked healthier, though obviously still old and getting more feeble.

 

Darcy sat down. Any excitement she would’ve felt otherwise sitting at the same table as a King, and two gods was definitely tempered. She supposed that desperate times called for situations where royalty put aside their pride and helped figure out solutions like everyone else. She briefly wondered if the people who did not live in the palace knew of what was coming.

 

Jane observed the realms again, and the group looked through their books, Darcy rereading that poem again and again, going back and forth in her head on what it could mean.

 

Jane’s voice broke through just as Darcy realized something about the poem. It said all the things you’d expect, but the line about “life reversing” or whatever. She initially thought it was fancy way of speaking of death, but what if her and Loki were switching lives, in a way? Or in this case, sharing powers? The way their lives were going, reversed to look like the other?

 

 _When darkness comes,_ she thought. Well that already happened

 

“Something is happening. What is the cold realm called?”

 

“Jotenheim?” Thor stood up, Loki looked up as well

 

Darcy remained lost in her thoughts, but snapped out of it just long enough to hear her friend’s last few sentences

 

“yes, I believe so. Fire is coming from another realm, the boundaries broken again”

 

_the bonds of worlds will shatter_

“We must go try to save who we can”

 

“Those monsters? Really, Thor, you should know that we on Asgard don’t care for such beings” Loki’s voice sounded sarcastic

“Enough” Odin could try to silence Loki’s words, but he did not deny it.

 

_Time will stop_

 

Could they make it stop?

 

_The old world end_

The old world…was there a new world to take its place?

 

_Life will reverse_

Jane and my powers, Darcy realized

Could they change what Ragnarok did?

 

“And, oh my god,” for the first time since Jane had received her ability and began saying what was happening on different realms, she sounded genuinely afraid this time.

 

“What is it?” Thor moved closer, Odin and Loki even joined him

 

Darcy was the only one who hadn’t gotten up yet.

 

“Earth. Midgard, whatever. Its freezing over, steadily but surely. Snow is everywhere”

 

 

_Ragnarok will fall._

 

“We have to go” She heard herself say as she stood up. The whole room turned to her

“I think I know what to do”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going to Earth, trying to figure out how to stop this/change what it will do. 
> 
> Should be ending in the next few chapters

 

It was crazy, and she wasn’t even sure it would work. Hell, Odin himself would probably denounce it, Thor and Jane would be polite, but would still doubt her, and she had no doubt Loki would probably bluntly and eagerly tell her how stupid her idea was.

 

As it happens, Jane looked surprised, but determined, Thor was frowning slightly, Loki was eyeing her curiously and Odin was as stern and impassive as ever.

But no one immediately reacted.

 

“Didn’t you hear me? I think I know what to do, we have to leave now.”

 

“What makes you think you know what to do?” Surprisingly there wasn’t a hint of condescension, just a simple question.

 

“The poem, it stated how bonds between worlds would shatter, time would come to a stop, the old world would end,” Darcy started, feeling a little silly saying it out loud, but still no less certain

 

“we know, the world’s going to end, I’ve seen it myself –“ Jane began, but Darcy cut her off

 

“but then it talked about life reversing, and what if that doesn’t mean death, but it means the way peoples’ lives are going suddenly switch direction? Or swap somehow? Like me and Loki sharing magic, for instance”

Loki looked at her, but didn’t say anything, almost like he didn’t’ want to be noticed

 

“What if we could change the old world? And not have it end, but just change? Like for the better?” Her mind was racing, and she could feel the ideas spilling out of her, and her new magic humming through her, settling in at the back of her mind.

 

“What makes you think you are right?” Odin’s voice came booming in, apparently regaining some of his firm manner

 

No one said anything on her behalf, so Darcy squared her shoulders and walked closer

“I don’t know if I’m right. I could be wrong, very wrong. But this could be our only shot. And it’s my planet on the line here, not to mention yours. So if you have a better idea, I’d suggest voicing it now”

 

Despite Loki’s distracted thoughts about Frigga, and magic, and sharing it with someone whom he least expected, he heard Darcy’s speech, and was just a little proud (okay, perhaps more than just a little).

 

Odin’s face remained unchanged for a moment, then his eyes softened almost imperceptibly.

“you remind me of the late Queen, Frigga”

 

Darcy couldn’t help the smile that played at the corners of her mouth

 

“what realm should we go to first?”

 

“Well before we do that, or maybe we could do it after or during, I don’t know, what’s causing Ragnarok?” Darcy felt like the words came automatically somehow, like she hadn’t exactly thought of those word exactly, but suddenly it was clear what she needed to ask.

 

As she would soon figure out, Loki was learning how to reach back from his side of their bond, with magic.

 

“Was there a trigger that caused Ragnarok?” Thor turned to Jane now, who spoke up in reply

“I remember initially seeing those two realms nearly destroyed, the barriers broken and they collided. I should look at those realms again, I haven’t since that happened”

 

and Darcy’s friend went to look again

 

while she did that, Odin sat down, feeling weaker than he let on

 

“Ragnarok has been prophesied before, but never happened on the scale it was promised. Only smaller events. But they began curiously, no outside warning, no visible cause, except – “

 

“Except what?” Jane and Darcy spoke, this time at the same moment

 

“Father?” Thor sat next to him, Loki remained at a distance.

 

“There was an unusual number of stars that were dying. It didn’t last long, and no one remembered that after the larger disaster would happen and damage a city, or level a palace – “ at that, Odin started coughing. It took a moment for him to stop, but he seemed even more worn after that

 

 

Darcy couldn’t help but feel a sense of urgency, even greater than before.

 

“There were stars dying, right Jane? When we first got here?” Jane nodded, looking pale

 

Darcy could only imagine how pale her own face was right now, pale and scared, but with the wheels still turning in her mind.

 

“We should go. Which realm was the worse off?”

 

“Darcy, I don’t think we would survive long on the realm that is worse off.”

 

“But we have to do something!”

 

“We’ll go to Earth, contact Shield, see if we can stop it from there. Or at least start there, it’s better than going to one that won’t give us as much time” Jane was pleading now, but still logical and practical as ever

 

 

“I believe, I am too weak to go with you. But I will do what I can from here, and hope I live long enough to see this finished” Odin tried to stand, but soon gave up.

 

“Go. Find the point where Ragnarok first touched Midgard.”

 

Jane and Thor immediately clasped arms, and waited for Loki and Darcy to join them. Darcy held onto Jane’s other arm, turning expectantly to the last member of this odd little crew.

 

She thought he might put a hand on Thor’s shoulder, or something fairly impersonal, given his and Thor’s history, but he didn’t. He unbound himself, and came towards her.

 

She tried to not react when he deftly put an arm around her waist, and extended his other arm towards Thor. His arm felt firm and lean, though clearly less thick than Thor’s.

 

Darcy tried to not think about what Loki’s muscles looked like, just from the feeling.

 

Loki, for his part, had to concentrate extra hard on sealing the four in a bubble so they would not be lost in universe as they traveled. His arm could feel Darcy’s stomach, winding around her curves. He swallowed, and tried to pull himself together.

 

“…ready?” Jane and Darcy nodded at Thor, who nodded at Loki, and together they all were transported back to Earth.

 

It was a whoosh of different colored light, all rushing past them. She could almost make out galaxies swooping by, but before long she had to close her eyes since it was moving too fast.

 

She thought she felt the arm around her tighten.

 

But before long, they were landing a few blocks from the apartment three of them had left from.

 

They narrowly missed a cab as they all shuttled to the other side of the street.

 

Darcy felt relief at being back in her familiar city, with familiar smells and sounds. Her and Jane shared a smile, both obviously glad it was still here.

 

She felt cold all of a sudden, as the realization that though it was her familiar city, there was snow falling. And it was June.

 

“We have to find a way to contact Shield and figure out how to stop Ragnarok.”

 

“leave Shield to me,” Jane sounded determined

 

“Thor, you come with me. You’re an avenger, and you’re my backup”

 

Thor nodded, resolutely following orders.

 

Darcy shared a look with Loki, not sure if he was thinking the same thing she was, but she hoped

 

“and me and Loki will find where Ragnarok first affected this planet”

 

Her and Jane exchanged another look, and then hugged tightly

 

“Stay safe” came Jane’s muffled voice

 

“You too, boss lady” Darcy replied, falling back on humor even as her a lump formed in her throat

 

Without another word, the two groups set off in opposite directions.

 

Loki could feel what Darcy was feeling, as she led the way. Fear, a jumble of ideas, focus on the goal.

 

She looked at him like she wasn’t sure what he was thinking. He knew he’d probably been appearing to ignore her. And he knew that wasn’t the best course of action.

 

It had all taken him by surprise. And he still resented how easily his own cover had been blown by a bond he didn’t know existed, with a mortal no less.

 

But a mortal with magic.

 

It had been a long time since he’d been vulnerable. He only hoped Darcy wouldn’t hurt him, and that he wouldn’t end up hurting her.

 

“Hurry up.” Her clipped voice brought him back to the present, her form clouded by the falling flakes that stuck in her hair. She was still in her Asgardian garb, which he believed to be warmer than her other attire.

“we should go right” He sensed it might be the best way, based on where the source was likely to be.

 

“We can’t go right yet, we’re in the middle of a block of buildings”

 

“based on what I can sense, we need to turn right as soon as we can. Unless you have a better idea. Then again, your senses are new and not very attuned” It definitely sounded more condescending than he meant it, but it was true.

 

“Fine, lets march through a building and pray no one recognizes you and starts a panic. As it is, you might want to try disguising yourself” She briefly turned around as she spoke, but without slowing down.

 

Darcy marched along, trying to ignore the way her senses told her that Loki was right. She was being stubborn, but he had ignored her. Not she suddenly expected him to be her best friend but she thought he’d felt a bond form with the magic – with their magic – too.

 

Maybe after all this they could talk. If no one locked him up again that is. Even if they did, she’d find a way to see him. Then people would really think she was crazy, not just annoyingly quirky or fun to be around.

 

Loki had actually disguised himself, but in such a way that Darcy was the only one to see his true face. To everyone else, he looked like your everyday business man, who were among the richest on this realm.

 

She grabbed his hand, and they abruptly turned right, going through an alley between buildings and through the other side.

 

The contact seemed to electrify both of them, making the bond even stronger.

 

The snow seemed to be getting even thicker, falling faster, nearly blocking out the few people who were walking around on the sidewalks.

 

They were near a park, overlooking the city.

 

“Start feeling the ground, try to reach out and find where Ragnarok first struck”

 

For once not arguing, Darcy knelt and fanned out her arms systematically. Even her brand new senses, unattuned as they were, could tell something had been here.

 

“We should hold hands”

 

He looked back at her, feeling surprised, until he realized that, of course, contact made it easier to use their magic more effectively.

Neither had any gloves to remove, so they slowly reached out to each other,

 

“I didn’t’ ask for this,you know.” Her statement was unexpected, but he understood it.

 

“No you didn’t. And I didn’t ask to be a Frost Giant” there was still bitterness there, but somehow it felt better sharing that fact with someone who hadn’t been raised to hate Frost Giants and the realm they belonged to.

 

They resumed reaching out, until their hands were clasped.

 

The magic curled around their hands, barely visible, but definitely felt by both.

 

It extended past where they stood. They followed it with their eyes, until it lit up a small circle, no bigger than a dinner plate.

 

“There”

 

\--

 

In another part of town, Jane and Thor had finally contacted Shield on a phone in a restaurant, and it had surprisingly clear reception, considering the storm outside. But then again, Shield technology.

 

They had detected something, but hadn’t known exactly what it was.

 

\--

 

even farther away on Asgard, Odin was helped to the chamber where the safeguards were kept. He knew that using them for something other than their intended purpose might go terribly wrong.

But he had to try, even if he didn’t live to see the new world.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out more about how to save world. Even see a snippet of other characters' perspectives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm completely making up all the mythology here, and I'm sorry I'm not explaining every detail of my made-up stuff  
> also, it's easier for the woman to communicate without speaking out loud, so she uses her mind.

 

There were three objects Odin had once acquired for the protection of Asgard, and of its king. An orb, a scepter, and a bowl. The orb to form a magical shield, the scepter could be used to protect whoever carried it, and the bowl to hold the soil of the realm that needed protection the most.

 

As it happens, he had sent many warriors to bring back soil from all the realms, if they could.

 

They had mostly succeeded, but Odin was not sure if it would work to try to extend the magic past its original use. Centuries before, he had these objects crafted, not specifically against Ragnarok (because he vainly believed it would never happen), but against any other disaster that may strike that could not be quelled with an army. He had come close to using it before all this, during the Dark Elves attempt to destroy and plunge the worlds into darkness. But it had been saved then, and Loki, he had believed, been killed before the final battle.

 

Clearly he had been wrong. About a great many things. And it was only now he was truly able to admit it.

 

He had a servant help him gather the objects and take them to a table outside.

 

Even the atmosphere was changing in Asgard, though there weren’t a lot of visible signs of what was coming.

 

He was being updated every hour.

 

Nearly all the realms were affected. Apparently Asgard might be one of the last to go. It seemed that the realm that governed the rest would be gone when there was finally nothing to rule anymore.

 

Sitting down because he couldn’t stand for very long, he began the ritual.

 

And he prayed to any god that was listening:

 

_Please. Not this time, not my son. Not Thor._

_Not Loki._

 

 

Thor and Jane hadn’t found anything magical yet, but the cold was getting worse. The call hadn’t lasted long, but long enough to know that Shield was nearly at a loss. They held up in a nearby building, a hotel.

 

Jane hoped Darcy was okay with Loki, but she also realized that might be the safest place to be, since he had magic. Not to mention that he was different around her friend, not quite as snarky. In fact, he’d been oddly silent.

 

She hadn’t said any of this directly to Thor, but maybe when this was all over.

 

She wished she had said more to Darcy; she’d been happy to even have one intern for her expedition to New Mexico, even if she’d been annoyed sometimes. But Darcy helped her without too much complaint. And despite everything, she was a good friend.

 

Jane only hoped she wouldn’t lose her. She was only starting to really appreciate Darcy.

 

 

At a loss for anything else to do, she let her eyes See what they needed to see.

 

Earth was freezing, slowly being frozen to death. Jotenheim was crumbling, another realm she didn’t know seemed okay at first, but something invisible was creeping over the land.

 

Beyond that, the rest were showing signs.

 

They didn’t have much time

 

 

The circle was a blue vapor, curling above the freshly fallen snow.

 

Darcy broke off contact and ran over to it

 

Loki rolled his eyes

 

“you should wait until we both are able to stop, otherwise it creates a drain on the other person to wrap up the spell, not to mention its just rude”

 

“you can give me magic tutoring later, okay Reindeer Games?” Darcy didn’t have time to quibble.

 

She knelt in the snow, trying not to shiver too much. Loki joined her.

 

“So-so what do we do?”

 

Loki didn’t answer immediately, but reached out to it

 

Darcy grabbed his hand and tried to pull it back

 

Loki blinked, but soon recovered “what are you doing?”

 

“Er, maybe its not a good idea to just reach out and touch something unknown?”

 

 

“then what do you suggest?”

 

“….doing it together? Or trying to feel it out, or whatever”

 

Her magic was raw, untamed. His was honed over many centuries, but lately was turning out not so refined and perfect.

 

He wondered if it was Ragnarok that had hindered his skills, or if she had anything to do with it.

 

“Then hold my hand, and stretch out your other one. This is unknown and highly advanced,” his hand laced with her own, and instantly she felt warmer, shield from the bitter cold, “so follow my lead”

 

 

She could feel his magic and her own meeting up, and traveling together. In her mind, she could picture one stream of magic merging with another, just as bright perhaps, but moving slower, more unsure, then fast and nimble.

 

“It’s like beams of light, right? traveling in two continuous streams, only one sometimes lags a bit?”

 

“How’d you know? Are you reading my mind?” she frowned

 

“Oh wait right, we’re connected somehow.” She interrupted him, leaving him silent again.

 

“I remember having my first lessons with magic. It wasn’t easy, I was impatient to see results, but Frigga – my instructor – helped me realize it wasn’t just the results that mattered, it was the process.”

 

“Frigga? Your mom?”

 

“Yes. Now concentrate, Darcy Lewis”

 

For a moment, neither was concentrating, but they found it again, connected to each other, and to the magical source.

 

It was like an electric current, but it didn’t cause a spark or any pain. Rather, a tingling sensation that ran through her outstretched fingers, up her arm, to her shoulder and all through her body.

 

She could feel a smile spread across her face at the wondrous sensation.

 

“There’s something there, it’s connected to the rest of the realms.”

 

He sounded thoughtful, curious, and cautious. But underneath all that, he definitely was enjoying this, end of the world or not.

 

Slowly, the circle began to change; the snow within it melted and revealed the grass underneath. The circle itself, the dancing blue vapor, expanded to enveloped the two sitting, eyes closed

 

_Who are you_

 

The voice sounded in both their minds, drawing them in.

 

Their minds saw a tower, high up in a castle, nearly deserted except for one lone figure looking out the window at the grounds below.

 

She wore a long blue dress that curled around her ankles and swished when she turned towards them.

 

Loki slightly shifted his position so he was a little in front of Darcy.

 

_Who are you and what are you doing here_

The woman’s mouth didn’t move, but they heard the words clear as a bell, in their minds.

 

Darcy tried to speak, to form a sentence, even a word, but she found she couldn’t. It was like silence had become a tangible thing and she’d swallowed so much she couldn’t speak anymore.

 

Loki casually stretched his arm slightly in front of Darcy, protecting yet another mortal who clearly couldn’t protect herself

 

_I’ll handle this_

Darcy’s eyes went wide, but she nodded. She could hear his thoughts, even only in short bursts.

 

_I am Loki Lafeuyson. This is Darcy Lewis, of Midgard._

_We are here to stop you, whatever you are doing to cause this_

Darcy put a hand on Loki’s shoulder

 

_Who is this lady?_

He turned back just long enough to think at her, _I’m not entirely sure_

_You cannot stop this. It has been prophecied._

The mysterious woman turned back around, to look out the window of the tower, with a sad sort of expression

 

_There has to be a way_

Darcy surprised herself sometimes. She only hoped her mortal mind could connect with whoever this was.

 

Then again, it had connected with Loki’s mind, so maybe this wasn’t that far of a leap

 

 _It is inevitable._ The woman didn’t quite turn around this time,

 

_Then what’s all this been for? Why do I have magic, and why does my friend see what’s happening in all the universes? And why have I paired up with Loki, of all people?_

Loki shot Darcy a warning glance, but she thought she could detect the smallest amount of frustration – and hurt.

 

It was gone in an instant and his face returned to impassive, yet calculating.

 

_You cannot stop Ragnarok. It has started._

Darcy started again

 

_Yeah, you said that already –_

_But the result. The result could change._

Darcy tried to press ahead of Loki, but his arm stopped her. She turned to face him, trying to put on a questioning expression.

 

_We need to know this._

 

He compromised, and stood next to her, though still inching out a little so he was still slightly ahead.

 

 

_What do you mean, the result?_

_There has been destruction before, small events that were confined to individual realms. But it was prophecied that there would be more, there would be the fall of worlds, and the bonds would shatter, and the old world would fall._

_There was always the possibility that the old world falling wouldn’t mean destruction or death, just change._

_But no one has ever been able to stop the destruction. Many have tried._

The woman, whatever her name was, looked sadder still. But she turned resolutely to her listeners (or mental listeners, rather), for her final sentences

_I don’t know why you have magic, but perhaps our prayers are being answered. Or rather just mine, as I’m the only one who hopes anymore. The rest gave up._

Darcy (and she could sense that Loki felt the same way) that they were curious about who else she was talking about, but they didn’t have time to hear about it.

 

_Connect with those you love, those who you try to not care for. As well as with your friends._

She walked closer still, and put her hands on their shoulders

 

“See if you can change the ending this time”


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They save the world, then watch Harry Potter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is anti-climactic, but I wanted to wrap this up in a chapter
> 
> there will an epilogue after this.

Darcy’s jaw dropped open, but before she could try to reply, they were back, standing in the snow, the blue vapor still there.

 

“Nothing changed! And what did she mean, it can’t be stopped but the result could change? And why could she suddenly speak at the end?? I don’t get it. Loki?” Darcy tended to ramble when frustrated, that and throw out a few choice words (even make up her own).

 

“the result of Ragnarok was always that the worlds would be completely destroyed, with no remnants left behind.” Loki looked at her, “but you have magic. And like it or not, we connected. Your friend has an ability too, and the woman said to connect with those we love.”

 

“and those we try not to care for” He looked at her, suddenly feeling vulnerable and trying to suppress it.

 

“We need to find Jane and Thor!” Darcy turned around, looking to see if she could even begin to find a familiar landmark. “Where do you suppose they went?”

 

“We could always use our magic” Loki said, smirking, but also fairly serious.

 

“Right” She came tromping back to him

 

She looked at him expectantly

 

“Well?”

 

“Well what”

“Can’t you locate them magically? And then, you know, teleport us there?”

 

“it is not that simple. We need something of either Thor or Jane’s and I assure you, I have nothing belonging to my brother”

He couldn’t deny her logic, but she clearly needed help with wielding her new powers.

 

 

“And I don’t think I have anything of Jane’s” still she checked all her pockets, of her coat, her jeans – front and back pockets – when she found a pencil. It was Jane’s, she had run out of her own and had stolen it from her boss. She meant to give it back, but then she forgot

 

Grinning, she turned to Loki

 

“I got it!” She waved the pencil in front of him,

 

clearly annoyed and amused at the same time, he grabbed her wrist

“yes, you have something of your friend, but I have nothing of Thor’s. Nothing tangible anyway” He thought of the numerous stories he could tell Darcy about Thor, about growing up with him, and all the schemes they had carried out.

 

“But they’re together” she wrested her wrist back, “so,” she handed over the pencil, “do the thing”

 

“do the thing? Do they even teach proper speech down here?”

 

She rolled her eyes

 

“you know what I mean.”

 

He stepped closer and reached out

 

“hold my hand” in any other context, Darcy would’ve made a flirtatious comment. As it happened, she still thought of a dirty line, but decided it wasn’t the best time.

 

They held hands, like they had before (which seemed so long ago now), and she could feel her magic reach out to his, if that made any sense. It was like their magic was just getting acquainted, but with stronger feelings beneath the surface…

Where did that even come from?

 

“something wrong” she looked up to see Loki studying her face, frowning slightly

 

“nope.” She tried to rearrange her face into an appropriately expectant look

“beam us up, Loki”

 

he refrained from commenting. He didn’t get the reference anyway

 

He flexed his magic, and could feel hers dancing around his, playful, curious. Just like his own used to be, and still was, just…more jaded perhaps

 

He muttered the words, and pictured Jane and Thor in his mind, holding the pencil between him and Darcy.

 

“picture them, Darcy”

 

She had her eyes closed, but she nodded

 

In an instant, light enveloped them and the spell took hold.

 

It was like floating at first, slowly, carefully, then suddenly Darcy felt herself compressed on all sides, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t see, she could barely hold onto her mental image of her friend and Thor –

 

They landed in a building, she barely had time to look around before she heard a familiar voice

 

“Darcy!!” Jane came rushing towards her

 

Thor nodded at Loki, unsure of whether or not to do more.

 

“did you find it? We couldn’t –“

 

“We did. And we talked to someone” Darcy started, not knowing how to explain everything

 

“Who did you speak to?” Thor was inquiring now, equally curious

 

“The magic behind Ragnarok. She – “ Darcy looked at Loki before continuing

 

“She?” Jane sounded perplexed

 

“Yes. She said that it can’t be stopped but the result could change. To connect with people you love and even ones you don’t care about, or try not to, or something like that”

 

“Do you know what to do?” Jane looked in her eyes and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her to concentrate.

Darcy and Loki were still holding one hand between them, and she would’ve let go by now, but with Jane’s hand on her, she suddenly felt a connection between all three of them. A flow of information, a realization.

 

Darcy’s mind saw a little of what Jane could see, and could see that all the realms were in danger now. This was their last shot. She didn’t even know it would work

 

Loki already sensed Darcy’s magic, sensed even more than that, her feelings, her essence if he concentrated long enough. But he realized what she did

 

“We need to form a circle, everyone hold hands”

 

Thor struggled to keep up, but not one for arguing, especially at this point, he joined hands with Jane, she with Darcy, Darcy with Loki and Loki with Thor.

 

Darcy and Loki shared a look

 

 _Will this work?_ Her magic – no, Darcy using her magic - asked

 

 _I hope so_ he answered back

 

“Jane, See everything you can. Reach out to every realm, even this one.” Loki’s voice was urgent, yet didn’t rise in volume

 

“Darcy – “ he didn’t need to finish his thought; she understood as well as she could; use her magic, “picture a better ending.”

 

“Thor” the god of thunder nodded back, and summoned Mijolnor, letting go of one of Jane’s hands.

 

“Use your lightening to channel the magic, specifically to the point where Ragnarok first touched each realm. It will spread that way”

 

a pause

 

a distant rumbling started in the distance

 

“Now”

 

Jane closed her eyes, then opened them, and for the first time her eyes had changed color, her posture stiffened

 

Thor reached up, extending the hammer, summoning the lightening and the air crackled around them

 

Darcy’s hair stood on end

 

She let go of all restraint, letting her magic connect fully with Loki

 

He did the same, and in the circle, all were connected

 

The golden light enveloped hers and Loki’s hands again, and curled around them, building in strength and magnitude, until it joined with the lightening and was thrust upwards

 

She felt the rush of magic and wind around her, and she concentrated with Jane on sending it first to those points Ragnarok had first ruined

 

Another rush, and locations and names came to mind that she couldn’t have known before

 

 

To Helheim and Svartalfheim,

 

To Vanaheim and Alfheim,

 

To Nidavellir and Nilfheim

 

To Mespelheim and Jotenhiem

 

To Asgard and Midgard

 

 

It went like a chant in Darcy’s mind, and all of their minds, holding on she could sense her magic travelling far and wide, spreading out, yet never leaving her

 

Loki helped her magic along, and as it went, the longer they were connected, he began to see more about Darcy

 

Where she’d grown up, what he parents looked like, how she’d come to be so optimistic and carefree, and her inner strength

 

Her fear of the world ending before she got to say goodbye to it

 

He couldn’t stop now. Sharing his magic again, even to save the world, was something he never thought he would do.

 

But this wasn’t so bad. Not when it was with someone like her.

 

 

Darcy saw more of Loki than she’d ever expected. Her connection showed her what his childhood was like, how he’d grown up, what he’d felt. And even the moments she suspected he didn’t like to remember and was not proud of.

 

She thought of the poem that had predicted this madness

And saw the other meaning in it; they were changing the ending.

 

_When darkness comes_

_The bonds of worlds will shatter_

_Time will stop_

_The old world end_

_Life will reverse_

_Ragnarok will fall_

 

A new one came to mind:

 

The light will come

The bonds restored

Time begins again

The old world does end

Lives are reversed, fate intercede

The forces of Ragnarok will fall

Bend to the will of four

 

She was caught up in the rush around her, the noise, the chaos. And just before she knew the magic was done doing its work, she thought she could sense, from far away, a king doing his best to aid them and help all of them.

 

_Thank you._

 

She wasn’t sure if she said thank you or if he was thanking her, or both, but it didn’t matter.

 

 

With a whoosh and an intake of breath, and a feeling of clammy palms, she opened her eyes.

 

The last vapors of magic faded

A collective pause as everyone looked up and at each other

 

Nothing in the building had changed.

 

Slowly, they all turned to look out the window

 

There was no snow, no wind, just sunshine and warmth.

 

Pulling Loki behind her, and tugging Jane along too, she dashed outside, though they hardly needed encouragement

 

“it is over” Thor sounded happy, Jane let go of her hand, and rushed over, giving her boyfriend a big smooch

 

Darcy felt more relief than she ever expected to feel as a huge smile spread across her face

 

She looked at Loki

 

He met her eyes, and smiled too, though not as exuberantly as her

 

“We did it!” she pumped her fist in the air, and then wrapped her arms around Loki

 

He stiffened at first, but then slowly wrapped his arms around her

 

She pulled away a little quicker than she normally would, at the risk of making it awkward

 

She didn’t know how much he’d seen of her life, assuming he saw something like she had seen of him.

 

Her face was entirely too close to his when she unraveled her arms from around his neck

 

Loki was still for a moment, but then reached up and lowered her arms for her

 

She was about to say something when Jane rushed over to hug her with a bone-crushing hug

She didn’t even mind though

 

Thor and Loki looked at each other, then briefly hugged too

As she pulled away from Jane, she realized she should turn her phone on and call someone, like maybe her mom or Shield

 

“oh my god, I have like 20 missed calls”

 

a strange giddiness welled up inside her at something so ordinary. They did it.

 

 

Hours later, after sorting everything out with Shield, but who wouldn’t let any of them leave yet, had allowed them to go back to Darcy’s apartment to change clothes and freshen up before giving them a statement

So it happened, Jane got the shower first, and after a moment Thor joined her.

Darcy didn’t care, so long as they didn’t get too loud

 

That left her and Loki sitting on her couch together, in her messy living room, just like she had left it.

 

Her magic wanted contact with him again (and so did she), but she wasn’t sure if he did.

 

“So…”

 

“Miss Lewis,” they said at the same time. Darcy motioned for him to speak first

“Darcy,” he gulped, then continued, “during the spell, I saw things about you, your life.”

 

“yeah?”

 

“yes. Where you grew up, your parents, the things you faced and overcame, how you once felt second best to Jane and others like her.”

 

Her eyes were misting up, so he quickly changed the subject

 

“ And it occurs to me that you may need help with your magic, which you still have. I would help you, if you answer me something”

 

She adjusted her position on the couch so she was directly facing him

 

“Ask me what” she couldn’t help but be curious

 

“what did you see of me?”

 

she hesitated, not knowing how well it would go over

 

“I saw you, how you grew up, how you felt feeling like you were always second best, feeling afraid when you discovered who you were, how you used magic as a weapon…how the only other person you ever shared your magic with like that was your mom. She taught you, didn’t she”

 

Loki’s eyes found Darcy’s, but still said nothing

 

“I saw the moments you weren’t proud of, but more recently, the grief you expressed when she died, and you weren’t there to help her”

 

a tightening in his chest, his usually controlled demeanor faltering

 

“you were scared,” this time it was Darcy speaking

 

He looked at her, waiting to see how that sentence would end

 

“of being a Frost Giant, just like I was scared when my magic went out of control”

 

She looked sympathetic now, and for a moment, something cracked in his hardened heart

 

He tried to compose himself

 

It occurred to both of them that they had inched closer during this conversation, yet no one had pulled back yet

 

“Ahem”

 

they hadn’t noticed Thor and Jane return

 

Loki and Darcy broke apart, retreating to oppose ends on the couch

 

Jane was toweling off her hair as she sat next to Darcy, who tried to think of something to say

 

“So, I was thinking, since we’re all here, and Shield can wait, we should all watch something.”

 

For once, Jane didn’t object to not doing what they were expected

 

“like what?”

 

“watch a movie?” She didn’t know why she said it, but she needed something normal right now, “or talk about how awesome we all are”

 

“Indeed it was awe inspiring, I am grateful to have such courageous Midgardians to aid the battle”

 

“I say,” Darcy started, “we order takeout, and have a marathon”

 

“What’s something they would like?”

 

Darcy looked at Thor and Loki, and a thought came to her

 

“Harry Potter marathon, definitely.”

 

So that’s how Shield officials found them later, all snuggled together in blankets, with empty popcorn bags, halfway through Chamber of Secrets, while Jane curled up against Thor’s huge frame, and Darcy had her arms wrapped around Loki’s waist, with his arm around her, having gotten past any point of awkwardness, with one hand laced with hers.


	15. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a ton of detail about everything, just a quick wrap up (but still good)
> 
> Thank again to all who read and left kudos, and commented. I really enjoyed writing this story and feeling more confident with my writing this time. 
> 
> Love to all!
> 
> -allison221b

 

 

They made one last trip to Asgard, to say goodbye. Darcy hadn’t even known Odin very long (the real one anyway), but hearing his thank you while they were saving the world had surprised her and yet touched her too.

 

They had each been able to say a few words, separately going in and talking to the dying king.

 

He hadn’t said much to her, but had smiled and told her thank you again, and even “take care of him for me.” She was pretty sure he meant Loki

 

Loki had disguised himself of course, so he wouldn’t be recognized and thrown in the dungeons again. Thor basically made him go and tell Odin what had happened before, with the Dark Elves. She hoped he did, and that he told her one day because all she had was Jane’s and Thor’s side of the story.

 

The four of them had formed an odd sort of bond, but it stuck.

 

Jane went to Asgard every few weeks, to learn about her gift and hone it.

She even wanted to use it to help Shield and they were actually receptive about it.

Shield learned of Loki’s presence, but acknowledged his usefulness and at Darcy’s behest they didn’t spend too long putting him under house arrest (in her apartment no less)

 

Darcy had lessons too, but not with Heimdall. Her and Loki’s connection grew each time they met, and she was starting to wonder if she was falling for him.

 

Loki himself was getting to know Darcy as himself, and even enjoying it. He wondered just how long ago he’d started to fall for her. He wondered if what that mysterious woman had said was true: he needed to connect with the ones he tried not to care for: his adopted father, his brother, now Darcy.

 

He believed he was starting to, at least. With Darcy it was fairly easy.

 

Thor was happy his brother was alive, even happier they had all survived another disaster

 

From what Darcy heard, Asgard was in the process of choosing a new king since Thor could not be persuaded.

 

She wondered what would happen.

 

Ultimately, Jane and Darcy both continued to help all the realms they could, going on crazy adventures to the newly restored realms.

 

And sometimes those adventures just meant that they would all talk and hang out, reminiscing about saving the world – again. And finishing the rest of the Harry Potter films.

 

 

“That was like, my third time saving the world. Jane too,” Darcy munched on a chip after making it float toward her mouth

 

“how many times have you all saved the world? I bet it was a ton”

 

“well, the worlds weren’t usually in that sort of danger – “ Thor began

 

“and I might’ve had a hand in causing it in the first place, so I’m not sure they would’ve accepted my help anyway” Loki finished, snatching the next chip away from Darcy and popping it into his own mouth

 

She scowled, but soon was concentrated on getting another

 

He grinned as he chewed the crunchy snack, sensing that she wasn’t too mad at him, just plotting payback

 

Sure enough, she started making the chips fly at his face, and soon he was dodging flying flakes until she made the bag emptied over his head

 

He tried to glare, but he couldn’t pretend for too long

 

“That’s what you get when you steal my food”

 

For a second, he hesitated, but he reached over and kissed her on the mouth.

 

Pulling back, he saw her surprised expression, but she didn’t respond at first

 

He wondered if he had been too hasty, he should’ve said something first –

 

Then she was kissing him, even more passionately than he’d kissed her. They both felt their magic connect and spike in new ways, as her hands caressed his face and his were in her hair, she was moving closer on the couch, practically in his lap –

 

“Ahem”

 

It came from Jane, whom he had forgotten was there. With his brother.

 

Darcy and Loki had broken apart, but she hadn’t moved away.

 

“you know what, we’ll go out and come back”

 

and with that, Jane dragged a delighted Thor out of the apartment. They could hear the footsteps trail away

 

Darcy looked at him, smiling

 

“So,” she moved to straddle his lap, “wanna do more magic?” it was cheesy but it was all she could think of

 

“There’s nothing I’d rather do”

 

so that’s what they did.

 

 

 

The End


End file.
